Fate: Pristine Lunacy
by ShadowKnight49
Summary: The girl lived a lie. The king was a failure. The witch denied the truth. The boy wasn't a hero. The coward never grew up. The father lost everything. The mother lost her family. The child lost her mother. None of them ever reached their expectations. Now it's time to reach beyond them.
1. Are You My Master?

**I'm gonna keep this short so no time is wasted.**

 **There will be an OC, and there will be some OC x Reimu. Before you leave, let me say that the relationship won't be prominent, Reimu won't be doting on him, and the OC won't be showing up often, if not simply rarely.**

 **Oh, also memes incoming.**

 **That's all.**

Are You My Master?

"Yo Reimu!"

Reimu sighed and looked at the shrine entrance, where a witch dressed in black and white stood, grinning.

"Hello, Marisa," Reimu said dully. She was tired from dealing with the fairies earlier that day and tried to convey her tiredness into her voice.

Of course Marisa didn't care.

"Check this out!" she said proudly, holding out something for Reimu to see.

A rainbow-colored crystal, pointed on all sides. It looked to the shrine maiden like a toy.

"Cool rock," Reimu grunted.

Marisa huffed, put her hands on her hips, and said, "It's not a rock, Reimu. It's a Saint Quartz."

"Cool."

"I got it from Kourin! He said that Saint Quartzes summon famous people from the Outside World, and they will become our Servants and us their Masters! Granted, in the Outside World you need a 'catalyst' or something yadda yadda Saint Quartzes are how we get them here!"

Reimu gave Marisa a sideways look and asked, "Why do you care so much?"

"You didn't see the Servant who was standing next to him... I think he said his name was 'Sigurd' or something."

Submitting to the fact that Marisa was not going to drop the subject, Reimu asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

Marisa pulled chalk out of her bag and said, "Summon a Servant, ze!"

She drew right on the ground, and Reimu felt a jolt of alarm.

"Hey, don't draw on the floor!" Reimu screeched.

Too late, Marisa drew a circle on the Hakurei Shrine's floorboards and tossed the chalk behind her. She then raised the Saint Quartz above her head.

"Now, to summon a Servant!" she shouted and tossed the Saint Quartz into the middle of the circle.

It made a _thunk_ sound against the floor.

And a girl crashed through the roof and onto the circle.

Both Reimu and Marisa stared at the girl who had just suddenly been 'summoned.' They then looked at each other before turning back to the unmoving girl.

Blonde hair pulled up into a bun, a blue European dress covered in English plate armor, and a gold and blue sword in her hand.

Not a Gensokian.

Slowly, the girl got up, groaning. She rubbed her head and looked up at both Reimu and Marisa. Then she spoke.

"You're not my Master."

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

She went by the name "Saber," which was apparently her 'Servant class.'

"My Master had been taken, and now I must return to my own world to find him," she explained simply.

"You mean the Outside World?" Marisa asked.

Saber nodded, and then turned to the fuming Reimu.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Reimu gave a sarcastic laugh before responding, "No, it's not like you broke my roof and my floor!"

"I'll find a way to fix it later."

"Why later?!"

Saber's stomach growled. Reimu growled back. Saber's stomach didn't like that and roared.

Marisa put her hands up and said, "I'm outta here, ze." She walked around the crater, walked outside, and then shouted, "Oy, Reimu! I could use some help here!"

Unhappy at how her day was going, Reimu walked outside to assist Marisa, and her day got even worse.

"Hello there, Hakurei Shrine!"

Seija Kijin was floating upside-down in front of the shrine gates, arms crossed and grinning. Standing two steps behind her was a man covered in Outside World combat equipment, his face obscured by his red hood.

"Oh, come on!" Reimu cried angrily. "I've had a bad enough day, so will you just get out of here?!"

Seija's grin grew wider, and it was clear that Reimu's complaints only made things worse. Clearly wanting to ruin Reimu's life, the amanojaku flipped back to her feet and casually strolled onto the Shrine grounds, the man with her following a few paces back. Glad to have an excuse to get rid of Seija, Reimu drew out her miko stick, and the unnamed man drew something from his belt and pointed it at her. Rinnosuke had something similar to it in his shop. He called it a 'gun.' It was a projectile weapon that fired metal objects called 'bullets.'

If one went through your skull, you would die immediately.

"Don't make Assassin have to get nasty," Seija said tauntingly, as if wanting Reimu to give the stranger an excuse to kill her. "Let me put this simply: that bullet flies faster than you."

Reimu narrowed her eyes at Seija, who was really starting to piss her off, and spat: "I thought you wanted all people to hate you."

Seija glanced at Assassin and back at Reimu before replying: "Yeah, but it sure is nice to have a Servant to help you out."

Reimu turned to Marisa, who was reaching for her Mini-Hakkero, and asked her, "When did Rinnosuke start selling these Saint Quartzes?"

"I got mine three days ago," Seija put in.

"Eh... he said last week, ze," Marisa responded.

"You didn't know?" Seija asked. "Everybody's been getting their own Servants for a while now."

No, Reimu didn't. Today was the latest she'd been out of the Shrine's grounds. Before then, she had been spending time trying to fix her roof.

Speaking of her broken roof...

Saber was pointing... mist at the Assassin. Her hand was firm, and her gaze was hard.

"You there!" she called. "What is your True Name?"

The Assassin didn't move at all. Though Reimu couldn't see his lips, it was clear that he hadn't said a single thing.

Saber's hold on her mist didn't waver. Nor the Assassin's on his gun.

"Seija Kijin!"

The sudden shout boomed through the Shrine grounds, and the blades of grass shook like a strong gust had met them.

"Move aside at once! Or do you wish to fall deeper into the black?"

Seija turned around, ready to give some witty comment of some sort, but then her face fell like... Saber through Reimu's roof.

Turning to Reimu, she flipped the bird before walking down the shrine steps. Assassin said nothing as he put his gun away and followed her.

Shiki Eiki stood there, her Rod of Remorse gripped tightly in her hands. Next to her was a tall, buff man in knight armor holding a sword at his side.

Saber clearly recognized the man next to Eiki, because her eyes widened as she said incredulously, "Sir Gawain? Is that you?"

Gawain smiled and bowed before replying, "It's good to see you, my king."

Marisa waggled her head in disbelief before spewing out, "You're a king?!"

Eiki clearly did not care about the conversation that was occurring around her, because she immediately told Reimu, "Reimu Hakurei, as the defender of Gensokyo, it is your duty to solve this chaos!"

Reimu could only blink, confused at what Eiki meant.

Eiki stared her in the face firmly before continuing, "There are multiple youkai, and fairies, I suppose, who have summoned Servants and have been creating chaos all over Gensokyo!"

The Shrine Maiden knew for a fact that she shouldn't be snapping back at the Yama who her teacher feared, but she still replied: "Then why don't you do it?"

"I'll fix your roof if you do."

"Deal."

Eiki seemed satisfied. Then she got out a roll of paper and said, "Okay, here are the youkai who need dealing with: First, Sekibanki the Rokurokobi, who has been terrorizing the outskirts of the Human Village. Then the ice fairy Cirno, who has been creating rather violent pranks on her fellow fairies. After her, you must deal with the Komeiji clan, who apparently has sent an army of Servants to tear down the plant life around their mansion. It's not pretty. Finally, Yuyuko Saigyouji has to be fought for... 'stealing an endless supply of food.' There. Are you up to the task?"

"If it means fixing my roof for free."

Saber spoke up and said, "I suppose I should accompany you, Miss Hakurei. I am experienced in fighting Servants."

Gawain added, "She is my king, and for good reason."

Reimu's gaze narrowed at Saber and she pondered for a bit. Then she finally decided, "Fine, but don't expect me to call you 'Your Majesty.'"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Saber agreed.

Marisa puffed her chest and asked Eiki, "So, I gotta go too? Beat some baddies and crack jokes, amiright?"

Eiki stared at her before laughing.

"Goodness, no!" Eiki cried after laughing. "You'd probably destroy everything in the process."

The witch put her hands on her hips, wanting to argue but not finding anything good to use to shoot back at her.

Eiki looked from the witch, to the shrine maiden, to the Servant, and then nodded. "Good luck to all of you."

She then disappeared on the spot, and Gawain nodded to Saber before doing so as well.

Reimu turned to Saber and asked, "Shall we get started?"

Saber nodded.

Reimu took to the sky and began to fly towards the Human Village. Saber, though grounded, followed closely behind her.

Twiddling her thumbs for a bit, Marisa sat there in boredom before finally getting on her broom and flying away to buy groceries.


	2. Avenger of Sleepy Hollow

**Yoshiki-909: I'm not gonna say which ones you got right and which you got wrong, but lemme say, you've got good picks!**

Avenger of Sleepy Hollow

"Do you have an actual name?"

Saber turned to Reimu, who had asked her the question out of nowhere during their check of the Human Village's perimeter. In response to her question, she nodded.

"Yes, all Servants have real names," Saber told her. "Are you not sure exactly what a Servant is?"

Reimu shook her head. Saber gave her a patient smile.

"Well, before I answer that, what do you call this world?" Saber asked.

"Gensokyo," Reimu replied.

"Thank you. Well, we're from a different world..."

Reimu neglected to mention that Marisa already told her about how Servants came from the Outside World, but she didn't interrupt Saber.

"...and so, each Servant, or more specifically, Spirit, came from Earth's history, mythology, or literature. Famous figures in our world are usually summoned during a Holy Grail War, an event where one Servant of each class is summoned by a mage, or Master, and everybody fights honorably to win the Holy Grail, and the winning Servant and Master get a wish from it."

"A Servant of each class? What does that mean?" Reimu asked.

"Each Spirit is put into a class based upon their skills they had in life... or legend. For example, I am a Saber due to my prowess with a sword. Then there's the Archer class, Rider class, Lancer, Assassin, Caster, and Berserker. The way they're classified into these groups is... really in the name."

Reimu glanced at the mist that Saber was holding. Remembering the sword that Saber had when she had entered Gensokyo, it would stand to figure that the mist she was holding was her sword.

"Of course," Saber continued, "...some Spirits can be summoned in different classes as well. I can be summoned as an Archer, Rider, Lancer, and I definitely cannot be summoned as an Assassin."

Reimu's eyes narrowed with that last part. "You can be summoned as an Assassin, can't you?"

Saber's eyes didn't meet her own as she lied, "No."

Deciding not to press it, Reimu looked straight ahead into the forest.

"So what is your real name?" Reimu asked bluntly.

Saber's earlier willingness to give info away clearly didn't extend this far, because she replied, "Not to be impolite, but I don't know you very well, and I'm not willing to give that up just yet."

Shrugging, Reimu dropped it.

"So, do you mind explaining what this world is like?" Saber then asked. "Usually I am able to discover what a world has to offer, but this is an unusual case."

Reimu considered her question for a moment before answering, "Okay, so in Gensokyo, we have humans, fairies, youkai, and others that don't usually appear. Youkai tend to make trouble, so I, as the Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, have to go out and deal with that crap. Sometimes others will screw around and I have to beat them down too."

"Do you have to kill them?"

"Pfft, no. I beat up a lot of my friends."

Saber had no response to that.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

While Reimu and Saber were patrolling the outskirts of the Human Village, Marisa was actually in the village's market, looking for something to buy. Looking at her grocery list, the witch went over to a stall that was selling greens and contemplated what she should get and when the shopkeeper would look away.

"You don't want to get that one," the guy next to her said.

Marisa looked up at him. Orange hair, orange eyes, and an attentive expression as he studied a bundle of lettuce. And, of course, he was taller than her.

She realized that her gaze had been pointed at a potato covered in dark spots.

"Oh, right!" Marisa exclaimed, pretending that she wasn't going to steal the really good potato behind it. "I was just wondering if it was redeemable, ze!"

The guy looked down at her and then at the potatoes before taking the good one she was looking at. He smiled and said: "This one would do better."

Now her plan was ruined, and Marisa managed a delighted face as she took it and said, "Thank you!"

The guy nodded and went back to looking at vegetables. Marisa reconstructed her plan to steal her groceries if this guy was gonna watch her.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"I sense a Servant," Saber hissed. "Don't make a sou-"

"COME OUT ALREADY!" Reimu howled at the top of her lungs.

Saber gave her a look of exasperation as they heard something snarl.

"The Shrine Maiden, it's good to see you."

A massive wolf padded towards Reimu and Saber, and riding atop it was a dullahan wielding two long, wicked sickles and Sekibanki.

"Careful," Saber mouthed to Reimu. "That Servant... it's unusually strong."

"Great, on the first target, too," Reimu grumbled.

Sekibanki leaped off the wolf and bowed mockingly, her head floating slightly as it tried not to hit the ground.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves," she said, standing up straight. "I am Sekibanki, the one who's gonna give you a good scare. That's my Servant, Avenger."

The wolf snapped its jaws in recognition. The dullahan's collar shifted like it nodded.

"An Avenger?!" Saber cried out in shock. "How did you summon an Avenger?!"

Sekibaki shrugged and replied, "I guess that I'm luckier than anyone else. I mean, it's not like I summoned a Servant from one of the strongest classes."

Reimu was already getting tired of Sekibanki's smug attitude.

"Do you mind, like, _not_ scaring people?" Reimu requested.

Sekibanki quirked an eyebrow up, and Reimu realized that, today, everybody would be getting smug with her.

"Say, do you know what the difference is between you and me?" Sekibanki asked.

Saber held her sword in a guard position, and Reimu whipped out her miko stick.

Sekibanki's lips curled into a sneer as she answered her own question: "I am way ahead of you."

Too late, Reimu saw the eight Sekibanki heads surrounding her and Saber. Their eyes glowed as each head charged up before firing blasts from each eye. The area around the two erupted in a plume of smoke and dust, everything within outside of either Sekibanki or her Servant's field of vision.

The rokurokubi's heads immediately went into the cloud and searched for their victims, and Avenger, both rider and steed, shuffled restlessly.

Lobo looked up into the sky and snarled. Hessian and Sekibanki followed their gaze.

And Saber drove her sword through the wolf's throat, and at the same time Reimu bashed the main Sekibanki's head off with her stick. Lobo began to fade into little golden particles as Sekibanki's head bounced off a tree and into Hessian's arms, and without a ride, the dullahan and disembodied head crashed into the ground.

Both Reimu and Saber stalked towards Sekibanki and Hessian, their weapons drawn and aimed at the youkai and Servant.

With a sigh of annoyance, Reimu growled, "Listen, can you _please_ stop? I want to get my job done so I can get my roof fixed, capiche?"

Sekibanki glanced up at her and, with a look of disbelief, floated her head to where Hessian's would be.

And a neck attached her to the body of the Avenger Spirit.

Sekibanki stood up, clashing her sickles together, and smirked at them.

"Now we're neck-in-neck," she taunted.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

Both Reimu and Saber hid behind a bush, rocking themselves back and forth.

Though it was daytime, the sky had turned dark with clouds (Reimu figured Iku was doing something nearby), and the forest itself having too many leaves to offer much light certainly didn't help.

This was all well and good, but what really scared them was the dullahan that was stalking them.

"Come on out, little ones..." Sekibanki called out into the darkness.

They jumped at the sound of a tree crashing down.

Snapping out of it, Reimu shook her head, wondering why she was cowering from some youkai and her Servant. "Why are we just hiding?" she grumbled, standing up. "It's a Servant and a youkai. Not a big deal."

Saber, waking up from her stupor, got up and raised her sword. "You're right. We should be facing them."

 _Shink._

Reimu looked at her feet. A short sword, hardly longer than a dagger, was buried in the soft dirt in front of her. Taking it, she held it in front of her, considered the silvery blade, and squinted at a note attached to its pommel.

 _"Hi, Reimu! I heard about your job, and I had my Servant give you this! Make sure to hit the youkai with it! From, Yukari and co.!"_

Drawn on the bottom was smiley pictures of Yukari, Ran, and Chen. Reimu crumpled up the paper and held the small sword.

"Okay, so I gotta stab her with this, whatever," Reimu grumbled. "Fine."

Saber frowned at the sword, but dismissed it. "Okay, so how about this: I'll fight the Servant head-on..."

Reimu snorted. Saber frowned at her.

"Anyways..." she continued, "...be sure to assist me. Then get that good hit in."

"Sure," Reimu grumbled.

Somebody cleared their throat behind them. Both turned around.

"So, done hiding?" Sekibanki taunted. "I'm about done here, so..."

She swung both sickles down at them. Saber parried with her sword.

Taking a few steps back, Sekibanki snarled and multiple of her heads appeared from the trees. In response, Reimu launched her danmaku in all directions, causing the heads to float back, dazed. Sekibanki herself swatted them aside and charged straight at Saber, and the two began to duel sword-on-double sickles.

"Switch!" Saber called.

Reimu took her cue and, as Saber fell back, she flew straight at the demi-Servant. As Sekibanki swung her sickles, Reimu deflected it off her miko stick and drove the short sword between her eyes.

Then everything went dark.


	3. Memory of the Rokurokubi

**When you found out you had become a rokurokubi, you desperately tried not to have the truth be known, even to your grandfather.**

 **You never spoke long with the other villagers. You never touched your neck, you never stretched, leaned your head to the side, or even so much as scratched it, no matter how much it hurt. Not even at your favorite spot at the woods did you feel safe.**

 **Only when it was late at night would you let your head fly freely in the safe darkness in your room. It was a major relief to do so.**

 **One night, however, your head hit the wall after flying around too fast. Too late, your grandfather entered the room to see if you were okay.**

 **You remember crying in his arms as he reassured you everything would be okay, you were still his granddaughter, you were still...**

 **...human.**

 **He came up with a plan in order to let you be accepted by the other villagers as you are: he would invite neighbors to your home. You would get to know them. You would be nice to them. And then, after they've really warmed up to you, you would show them the truth.**

 **It began to work. The widower next door. The farmer and her daughter. The blacksmith. The Outside World-obsessed shopkeeper. They all got to know you as you are.**

 **They loved you. They promised that you are a loveable girl no matter what. They became your friends. You knew them, and they knew you.**

 **Then it all went wrong.**

 **You invited the soldier over. He was polite. Not rude, and denied your meals because he knew you'd need them for yourselves. He helped your grandfather stand up after he went to leave.**

 **Then you popped your head off. The man screamed and ran out the door, calling for help. Your grandfather turns to you, shakes your head, and wipes the tears from your eyes.**

 **The next week, the widower tells you that there have been more soldiers and that they've been looking at your home as they pass by. He's suspicious. So is your grandfather.**

 **You're not suspicious. You're scared.**

 **Your grandfather tells the widower to leave and never come back. He asks if there's anything he can do to help. Your grandfather says that he can hand over his sword. The widower reluctantly agrees and says goodbye to you.**

 **He never appears again.**

 **Your grandfather sits with the katana on his lap, staring at the door, waiting. You know that they will appear. You know for a fact that they will appear.**

 **Two days later, the soldiers knock on the door. It is barricaded with your table, and they knock harder, shouting in anger.**

 **The door is kicked open. Your grandfather gets up and raises his sword.**

 **The soldiers slice his throat open before he can even use it.**

 **You scream and, in a panic, throw your head at them. They all leap back and your head goes right through the doorway.**

 **That is the distraction you need. Following your head, you run through them and out the door. They chase you, but you are faster, more agile. You escape to the woods and hide at your favorite spot in the woods: a willow tree.**

 **You cover your mouth to hide your sobs as you hear the soldiers in the background, stomping through the dead leaves and sticks.**

 **Hours pass, and they leave.**

 **Knowing they're gone, you cry, but this time, your grandfather is nowhere around to comfort you.**

 **You just wanted them to love you.**

 **Was that too much to ask?**


	4. Wish of the Rokurokubi

**I've always tried to convince myself that I'm higher than humans.**

 **It distracts me from how much they scare me.**

 **I want to be the one to scare them.**

 **If I can't teach them to love me then I'll teach them to fear me instead.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 ** _YOU WANT THEM TO FEAR YOU?_**

 ** _MY MASTER, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SERVANT TO CREATE FEAR._**


	5. Dullahan Under the Willows

**Yoshiki-909: A lot of things here will occur, still not saying which, but as for Artoria's 'Summoning'... that will be explained in a later chapter.**

Dullahan Under the Willows

Leaping back, Reimu tried to process what she had just seen. She looked up at Sekibanki's face.

Just as she had seen in that vision, tears ran down her face. Reaching up with Hessian's hand to touch her face, Sekibanki looked at the wet glove and realized that she was crying.

Saber walked up to Reimu and asked, "What happened? That sword just bounced off her head."

Reimu frowned and shook her head. "We're leaving," she declared.

She turned away, but then something howled.

Not Lobo. Sekibanki.

In a fit of rage, the Rokurokubi hurled herself at Saber and Reimu, slashing maniacally, throwing heads, shooting lasers from her eyes, and launching danmaku in all directions. Her mouth foamed as a feral look in her gaze clouded her thoughts.

 _"Damn you humans!"_ she screamed. _"Why couldn't you see that I was still human?! My neck detaches and you destroy everything in my life!"_

No, it wasn't just Sekibanki they were defending themselves from. This was also the rage, the sheer desire for revenge from the Avenger that Sekibanki was sharing a body with. A mind filled with sorrow combined with the body of an Avenger embodying revenge.

And her rage was aimed at the human race as a whole.

Sekibanki's voice was shrill as she screamed: _"You took my home! You made me lose my friends! You murdered my grandfather!"_

One of the sickles hooked around Saber's sword, right under the pommel and above her hand, which was a mistake. Saber twisted, and the sickle went flying from Sekibanki's hand. With a roar of rage, Sekibanki swung down at them with her remaining sickle with both hands, and Saber and Reimu raised their weapons to block the attack.

 _"I never asked for your money! I never asked for food! I never asked for protection! I only wanted to be accepted!"_

She leaped back and charged back forward, her sickle burning with a dark blue flame. Utilizing her Noble Phantasm, Sekibanki sliced at them to cut off their heads, but Reimu deflected it off her stick. Struggling with the sheer weight of the attack, Reimu felt her arms burn as she summoned the yin-yang orbs of the Hakurei Shrine and sent them hurtling into Sekibanki's stomach, making her lurch.

With a hard shove of her miko stick, Reimu knocked Sekibanki's sickle aside, which was enough for Saber to leap up above the demi-Servant and slice at its neck. The Servant and Master separated, and Hessian fell flat on his back and Sekibanki's head rolled away.

Reimu considered Hessian's body and, extending her miko stick's length to that of a quarterstaff, stabbed it right in the heart. The Avenger disappeared in golden sparkles which floated into the sky.

"Got a problem with that?" Reimu asked Saber.

Saber shook her head and replied, "No. Avengers are evil, and it would be a mercy for both them and us if it disappeared."

"A mercy for them?" Reimu repeated.

"Their existences are made completely from regrets and pain. It's a relief."

Reimu shrugged. "Now let's check on that youkai."

They both went where Sekibanki's head rolled off to, and something cold went down Reimu's spine as she realized that, instead of it being oak trees shielding them from the sun, they were underneath the wide canopy of a willow tree.

Sitting at its trunk was Sekibanki's torso, which cradled her head and stroked its hair. They could hear the muffled sobs coming from her.

"I just wanted to be human..." Sekibanki whispered. "I didn't ask to be like this..."

Saber's armor clanked, and Sekibanki's head popped back onto her neck and she pressed herself against the tree trunk.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, voice cracking in desperation. "Go away!"

Saber flinched. Reimu didn't think that Saber knew about what Sekibanki had gone through, but it was clear she knew.

Sekibanki, the Rokurokubi Horror, was scared.

"I won't hurt you..." Saber said softly.

But Sekibanki clearly didn't hear her. "No! Stop! Please!"

Saber, still trying to show Sekibanki she meant no harm, reached a hand out and said, "I'm not going to hurt you! Please!"

At her sudden shout, Sekibanki wailed and tried to run away, but tripped and fell on her face. She was delirious in fear, wailing loudly and trying to crawl away.

"Grandpa!" she screamed. "Where are you?! Grandpa please!"

Reimu couldn't believe it. Less than an hour ago, this girl was cockily demeaning the both of them. Now, however...

Saber dropped her sword and walked over to Sekibanki. She picked the youkai up by the arms, and Sekibanki's eyes dilated as tears and snot ran down her face. All she could do now was scream. Scream like a child whose oldest fears have been brought to life.

"No! No! _Nooooooooooooooo!_ "

Saber, her gaze kind, wrapped Sekibanki in a hug. Sekibanki didn't struggle, and she stopped screaming in fear. Instead, she hugged Saber back and let out every year she lived in pain out in her cries.

 **...**

"Your Servant is gone."

A nod.

"What you did could've killed you. You basically let it sap your life force from you."

Another nod.

"You're off the hook, but don't do that again, even if you get your Servant back."

A nod once again.

Sekibanki had her hands behind her back, her collar lifted high to cover half her face, and she didn't meet Saber nor Reimu's gazes.

Apparently, after hitting her with the strange blade, Sekibanki was forced to relive the memories that Reimu had seen. She wasn't aware that Reimu had seen them, and the shrine maiden wasn't exactly excited to share. After breaking down in Saber's arms, she sat down with the Spirit and had a one-on-one talk about it (Reimu tuned in, but didn't say anything), and Saber gave her a promise: She would be seen as a human among humans again, even with the knowledge of her being a rokurokubi. Sekibanki, now dry of tears, simply thanked Saber sheepishly.

Now, both Saber and Reimu were chewing her out for her earlier misdemeanors to make sure she wouldn't do them again. Never hurt to be too prepared.

"You understand, right?" Reimu asked.

Sekibanki nodded. Reimu crossed her arms and smiled.

"Good. Then we're done here."

Reimu turned away, but something in her heart caused her to stop moving. Saber, who had begun following her, stopped and looked at her in curiosity.

Taking a deep breath, Reimu prepared for what she was about to do.

"Hey, Sekibanki," she said quietly, looking over her shoulder. "I'm sorry about your grandfather. He seemed like a great guy."

Sekibanki said nothing in response for a while, and Reimu figured that she was angry at her for some reason. She began to walk away.

"Thank you," Sekibanki finally said.

Reimu nodded, glad to get that off her chest, and walked away with Saber following her.

They left her be, the Dullahan Under the Willows.

 **...**

"Say uncle!"

"U-u-UUU-"

"Say uncle!"

"Uncle!"

Cirno released Mystia, and the bird lay on her face, gasping for breath.

"Ou, that was good wrestling!"

Cirno grinned as Lancer stood next to her, and she snorted at Mystia cockily.

"Hah! I am the strongest!" she declared.

Lancer considered the next kid in line. Jabbing a thumb at Wriggle, he asked, "Hey, how about that one next?"

Cirno put her hands on her hips and laughed. Lancer put a hand to his face and chuckled.

"You are a strange one, Master," Cu Chulainn snorted.


	6. Safe From the Storm

**In case you couldn't tell by the many changes in the story's synopsis and genre, there have been a few... changes in my original plan. Not gonna say what.**

 **Well, except that I'm changing a few things about the OC. He will be around... a lot. But the romance still isn't the most important thing in the world. I won't shove it down your guys' throats, I promise.**

 **Jazmin Acrosis Lunar: Thank you, that's actually very encouraging for me!**

Safe From the Storm

While Reimu and Saber left to find Cirno, Marisa was dealing with her own problems.

A thunderstorm had started while she was shopping for groceries, and, in her search for shelter, a guy in one of the houses waved her in. Just happy to be out of the heavy rain, she ducked into his house and dropped all of her stuff on the floor.

Then she realized that there were two others that she did _not_ want to see.

First was the orange-haired guy from earlier who ruined her plan to steal the perfect potato, sitting on the floor and wringing his socks out into a bucket. Then there was Seija's Servant, who for some reason was here, sitting down on a chair with his arms crossed.

As for the one who let her in...

Marisa turned to the owner of the house and snarked: "You went for brown hair today?"

Nasupil Feigling shrugged in response. "I wanted to mix up the colors," he said.

She knew this guy, more or less. Nasupil was a shut-in at the Human Village, and apparently he could change the color on anything.

No, really, that's all she knew.

With a sigh, Marisa sat down on a floor pillow and slumped over. She still wasn't pleased that Eiki hadn't allowed her to go with Reimu to save Gensokyo. Usually she'd have gone anyway, but it was Eiki, the Yama that was stronger than _Yukari_ , who told her to back off. She imagined Reimu and Saber going on a grand adventure, facing off against waves of terrifying Servants and youkai, beating impossible odds.

Little did she know that they'd only fought one Servant and one youkai, and they were beaten down physically and emotionally.

"It's you from before, right?" the orange-haired guy asked.

Marisa slightly turned towards him and replied, "Yeah."

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get to know each other. My name's Shirou. Shirou Emiya."

"Marisa Kirisame."

"Nice to meet you."

Marisa grunted in agreement. She looked over at Assassin and asked: "Does he say anything?"

With a shake of his head, Shirou replied, "No, the only thing he offered was 'Thanks' when he got in here."

Marisa considered Assassin. He was looking straight at her. Something about his gaze freaked her out, even though she couldn't see his eyes...

She heard a _thunk_ and looked up to see Nasupil putting a bright green pot on a stove.

"I'm gonna make a stew," he declared. "Gonna need something warm."

Shirou got up, his eyes bright with determination, and said, "I can help."

With a nod, Nasupil said, "Good. I could use more hands."

Both boys went to the pot and looked over at some ingredients that Nasupil had set aside, debating on what would go in the stew.

This was her chance, Marisa realized. The coloring boy might have good stuff to steal.

Finding a door that must lead to Nasupil's bedroom, she got up and tiptoed over to it. Both Nasupil and Shirou were considering a piece of beef, and Assassin looked at Marisa once but made no move to stop her.

She went to the door and slowly turned the knob and pushed it open. Inside was a bed, a desk with a chair, and a pile of crumbled up papers going up to the chair's seat.

Weird, Marisa thought.

Going over to the papers, she slowly uncrumpled one and read it. Her eyes widened.

Then she felt the hand on her shoulder.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

Marisa was tossed on her stomach in front of the two cooks. They both looked at her and the one who threw her.

"Master!" Leonidas shouted at the top of his lungs. "I found a thief looking through your private papers!"

Nasupil went pale, and Marisa didn't think it had anything to do with his color powers.

"You did what?!" he exclaimed.

Instead of answering, Marisa asked, "Why do you have a pile of crumpled up papers?"

The alarm in Nasupil's expression faded a bit as he asked yet another question: "You saw nothing?"

"Nope. Your room is dark."

He sighed in relief, and the tension in the room faded.

"Hey, I think it's almost done," Shirou announced.

Nasupil went over to him, and Marisa considered the Servant.

She didn't know anything about any damn Outside World heroes, but as far as they went, Leonidas looked heroic. He wasn't as fancily armored as Sigurd, nor as shiny as Saber. However, if one thing was registering in Marisa's head... he had some fine abs.

Assassin was different. He looked fitting to his name. If he slinked out of the trees in the woods, Marisa would assume a ghost had come out to haunt her. He was quiet enough. Creepy. Definitely unsettlingly quiet. And, to top things off, he was cleaning out his gun.

Marisa was afraid of guns. She remembered a time when Rinnosuke was showing her one that he found. After the long process of preparing to shoot it, it let out a loud _BANG_ that frightened her, and she ended up running back inside Kourindou and covering her ears. Not to mention the fact that, from what Rinnosuke had shown her, it was clear that those things could kill people.

Not that it was unusual in Gensokyo, but... why use something that scary to kill?

Looking at Assassin, Marisa decided to find out.

"Oi. You," she called to him.

Assassin looked at her and stopped his cleaning.

With a cough, Marisa built up her courage and asked, "Why would you use that?"

She gestured to the gun, and Assassin gave her the simple answer.

"To kill."

Marisa registered how rough his voice was. And there was something shaky about it...

"Done!"

Everybody turned to Shirou, who was holding up the pot of stew.

"I hope everybody is hungry!" he said.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"Twelve outta ten," Marisa declared after drinking the rest of the broth.

Shirou waved the compliment aside and said, "That's not an answer."

Leonidas was still eating his seconds, and Assassin was taking his time eating his, and he hadn't said a word since he started.

Considering the two Servants, Marisa turned to Shirou and asked, "Do you have a Servant? It's pretty common these days, ze."

Shirou gave her a baffled look and replied, "No, I don't have enough money for a Saint Quartz. Mom barely gives me enough to buy groceries as is."

He chuckled and lay his hands flat on the table. Marisa hadn't noticed before, but there was a tattoo on the back of his right hand.

"That's a weird tattoo," she remarked.

Shirou looked at it and replied with a chuckle, "Oh, I got that back in my delinquent days. Mom didn't like it, but I can't get rid of it anymore."

"Really? Why did you get a tattoo that weird?"

Shirou's smile fell and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "I don't remember," he responded.

Marisa frowned.

From where he sat, Nasupil fell on his side mumbling about how he wasn't used to eating food that good, and Leonidas finished eating his bowl with a loud sigh of relief.

Assassin didn't make a sound and was no longer eating. With the way the light was angled, Marisa could actually see his eyes, and he was looking down at his bowl.


	7. His Eyes

They were filled with an unfathomable sadness.


	8. Lancer of Light

**aliesterus: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA Though, to clear it up, we were talking about Assassin, not Shirou.**

Lancer of Light

Saber suddenly slammed the back of her fist into a tree. In surprise at the sudden sound, Reimu jumped and glared at her.

"Geez, what was that for?!" Reimu demanded.

Saber shot her with a glare of her own, but Reimu didn't step back or waver.

"Is that what 'exterminating youkai' means?!" Saber shot back angrily. "Killing their families and ruining their lives?!"

Reimu mockingly put her hands in the air, her irritation mounting, and responded: "Hey, I don't do that. My job is to make them stop messing with the humans' lives."

"And in order to do that, you sacrifice theirs?!"

"No, I don't!"

"Then what's 'exterminating' mean to you?! Does 'exterminate' not mean 'kill' in Gensokyo?!"

"I don't murder youkai, damnit!"

"You said it before! You told me proudly that you exterminate youkai!"

"Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"Hahaha!"

Both looked up from their argument and turned to the one who laughed.

"Two more weaklings to take care of!" Cirno said, laughing haughtily.

With a strong huff from her nose, Reimu said angrily, "Listen, you little pest. I'm not in a good mood right now so can you _please_ go away and stop being a little prick?"

"Sorry, but if I'm gonna train my Master, she's gonna need to be showing backbone!"

A man in a blue rubber suit with similarly blue hair leaped down from the trees, a crimson spear held lightly in his hand. His expression, just like everybody else in this damn world, was cocky.

Reimu was so tired of these people being the cock of the walk.

With a start of realization, Saber pointed her sword at the Servant shouted, "I remember you, Lancer!"

Lancer nodded and replied, "Good! You remember me, Saber! A good fight between friends, eh?"

To Reimu's surprise, Saber's bad mood faded away a bit as she gave Lancer a confident smile. "Of course," she replied.

Saber and Lancer got along fine. But as for Reimu and Cirno…

"Your Servant and Lancer may be even," Cirno boasted, "...but I am the strongest! I'll beat you easily, shrine maiden!"

Reimu let out a groan as she got out her miko stick. Cirno just stood across from her, arms crossed.

"Three," Lancer counted down.

Saber's smile grew as she said, "Two."

"One."

Both Servants launched at each other with a loud battlecry, and they became flashes of blue and crimson as they disappeared into the forest.

Reimu, on the other hand, went to hit Cirno… and was smacked in the face with something cold and solid. Before she could even register she was hit, she crashed into a tree and slid to her butt.

"The hell was that?" she muttered, rubbing her head and standing up.

As the stars faded and her sight returned to normal, she saw the little ice fairy holding a sledgehammer made up of ice. Despite the fact it was made of ice... well, Reimu felt the blow that she was hit with.

"Hahaha!" Cirno laughed, hefting the sledgehammer over her shoulder. "Lancer taught me how to become stronger! I'm the stronger strongest! The stronger strongest of the strong!"

Reimu growled before shouting: "Just shut up already!"

She took out three talismans and threw them at Cirno before summoning the yin-yang orbs. Cirno swatted each talisman aside before crushing the incoming yin-yang orb. With another laugh, she threw her sledgehammer at Reimu, and the shrine maiden ducked to avoid it. The sledgehammer hit the tree behind her and lodged itself deep into the wood.

Suddenly, the ice fairy seemed to be a bit... stronger.

Reimu looked at the sledgehammer for a second before Cirno came at her, now wielding two icy scimitars. To her dismay, the ice fairy was actually really good at using them. She'd end up ducking under one to find another about to intercept her while she was avoiding the first, and she'd have to float out of existence to not get sliced.

"Switch!"

Without warning, Saber slammed her back into Reimu and spun them both around, making Reimu face Lancer, who had a grin on his face.

"Oh, you have got to be-" Reimu started, and then she deflected Lancer's spear with her miko stick and threw talismans at his face. They exploded, and with a loud cry he slammed into the tree behind him. He wasn't moving, and Reimu wasn't sure if he was breathing.

Upon hearing Lancer's scream and seeing his limp body, Saber shouted, "Lancer ga shinda!"

Unsure why she was doing it, Reimu added, "Kono de watashi ne!" Then, realizing that Lancer wasn't gonna be getting up, Reimu shrugged and sighed, saying, "Dead like a dog."

Lancer immediately popped back to his feet and angrily roared, "I'm not a dog!"

He charged at Reimu and went to smack her with the shaft of his spear, but Reimu had extended her miko stick to match its length and blocked his swing before smacking the shaft of her staff into his stomach. Lancer reeled back as Reimu jabbed him in the shoulder, thigh, and once in the neck. Lancer coughed as the hard wood hit his throat and stumbled back before aiming his spear for Reimu's heart. The shrine maiden deflected the spear point and threw more talismans at him, causing Lancer to slide back, covering his face. He looked up at Reimu and grinned.

"Ou, you're pretty good!" he remarked.

Reimu didn't return the smile as she sent a hammering kick to his groin. Lancer's face fell as he slowly began registering the pain.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"Yo, Kourin!" Marisa shouted.

Rinnosuke looked up from the Outside World textbook he was reading and waved at her. "Hello, Marisa," he greeted normally.

Marisa stepped up to the counter and snatched the textbook straight out of his hands.

"Marisa, hey-!" he protested to no avail.

The ordinary magician flipped through some pages. Rinnosuke had told her that each Spirit was in the textbooks he found, and indeed she did find Leonidas and Sigurd in the book.

Speaking of Sigurd...

"Master, I am aware someone is in your establishment," Sigurd said, poking out of the back room.

Rinnosuke waved him off and sighed, saying, "I know. It's Marisa."

Sigurd looked at Marisa and muttered an apology.

Rinnosuke chuckled and said, "Sigurd and da Vinci can be oddballs, but they do help my advertisements."

After a few moments, Marisa realized that Rinnosuke had mentioned someone else besides Sigurd. Looking up, she asked, "Wait, who?"

"Sigurd and da Vinci?"

"Who's 'the fishy?'"

That's when a young woman popped out of the back room and shouted happily, "Hello, Rinnosuke!"

Marisa immediately hated her.

With another sigh, Rinnosuke said, "da Vinci, I thought you said you were working on some of the stuff in the back?"

"I already finished it!" da Vinci informed him in a singsong voice.

No, Marisa wasn't angry because da Vinci talked to Rinnosuke so easily. Nor because it was clear that Rinnosuke wasn't truly irritated. Nor because of how naturally endowe-

"I'll go away now. The lack of electricity that you Gensokians deal with..." da Vinci remarked before going to the back room.

As Rinnosuke turned back to her, Marisa pretended to go back to her book. She forced down whatever that ugly feeling she felt was.

Then they heard the scream.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"Dang, I think they heard that scream from Kourindou," Reimu observed.

Lancer croaked as he fell on his knees and collapsed. Then Reimu turned to glare at Cirno, who jumped in alarm as not only Saber but Reimu stomped towards her.

"You are skilled," Saber said, "...but I doubt you can defeat two of us."

Cirno responded by shooting sharp icicles at them, and Saber leaped in front of Reimu, causing the icicles to break against her armor. She then proceeded to rush at Cirno and swing her sword, forcing the ice fairy to block the sword swing.

Like throwing a talisman, Reimu got out the sword Yukari gave her and threw it at Cirno's head. Then the darkness consumed her.


	9. Memory of the Ice Fairy

everyday, you visit the children. they are always at that same spot near the lake. they love the way you fly in and cool them off with your powers during the summer. they see you as the older sister they could never have.

when you're with them, you wrestle with them. they're always laughing and having fun even as you beat them.

they call you _The Strongest._

you teach them school things. math, science, language. they always pay rapt attention as you do.

not all good things last forever, as you learned the hard way.

the children grow up. they grow taller and stronger. you begin losing some wrestling matches. you notice that when you teach them they begin to drift off at times.

eventually, one by one, they leave. they disappear and never come back.

then one day, you go to the lake and find nobody there. you wait. you expect someone to run up to you, apologizing for being late.

nobody appears. thinking they're off sick, you fly away and decide to come back tomorrow.

none of the children are there the next day. nor the next. or the one after that.

a week passes, and nobody arrives by the lake. brokenhearted, you fly to the little spot you call home. it's filled with memories that you shared with the children. toys, an old flower crown, and a paper with a picture of you with them made by some weirdo with glasses. memories that faded away. you weren't strong enough to keep them around.

the last week of loneliness finally catches up to you, and you feel hot tears pool in your eyes.

without realizing it, you start screaming, hitting everything in sight. you break each toy, stomp on the flower crown, and tear the picture apart. then you just punch a tree, and even as it hurts more and more you don't stop punching.

you're not sure how long you punch that tree, minutes, hours, days for all you care, but eventually you just sink to the ground exhausted, fists bloody and torn up, bawling. you curl yourself up and cry. you don't care if anybody sees you.

let them know that you aren't strong.


	10. Wish of the Ice Fairy

the strongest... that's only a nickname.

it means nothing. eye'm weak

eye want to be strong

strong enough to take the pain

.

.

.

 _Yo! You said you want to be strong?_

 _Then come on, Master! I can show you what it means to be strong!_


	11. Beloved Tomboyish Girl

Beloved Tomboyish Girl

The sword clattered to the ground in front of Cirno as if it had slid down the moment it touched her head.

Reimu blinked, realizing she was back in the real world. She looked at Cirno, who was lost in thought. Then she looked at Saber, who was standing next to her, enraged.

"Did you throw that weapon at a child?!" Saber demanded.

Before Reimu could answer, an ear-piercing scream brought their attention to the little ice fairy, who then promptly exploded into snow. With a loud _bang_ sound, the entire area became plagued with a blizzard.

"What is this?!" Saber exclaimed into the roaring winds.

Reimu couldn't respond, because she knew that her reply would be lost to the winds. Saber seemed to recognize this fact because she turned away from Reimu. Looking around, Reimu realized that there was no sign of the little ice fairy. Trudging through the snow, she noted with alarm that ice was coating on her shrine maiden uniform and her body. The same thing was happening to Saber, who was holding an arm out to shield her face.

"I'm always alone! Everybody leaves me behind!" Cirno's voice screamed into the blizzard, amplified so Reimu couldn't miss it in the winds. "Nobody stays nice to me!"

"Then come out so we can talk it out!" Reimu called.

"LANCER!"

Reimu rolled away just in time, because Lancer dived down with his spear right where she was a second ago. She went to smack him with her miko stick, but he flicked his spear out of the ground to uppercut her with the tip. She blocked it with her arm and extended her miko stick to a staff's length before hitting him in the nose with the end of it. He rolled away and disappeared into the thick snowstorm.

The cold was beginning to really bother Reimu. She was beginning to go numb from it, and whatever she could feel was a cold dumbness. If she tried to fly up, the snow would turn to hail in her vicinity and the winds would push her down until she was forced back to the ground.

Was this really what that dumb ice fairy was capable of?

"Reimu!"

Turning around, Reimu was relieved to see Saber running up to her. The Servant was cut in a few areas, but other than that she seemed unharmed.

"I can't find Lancer in this snowstorm!" Saber shouted, loud enough so Reimu could hear. "If it keeps up, he'll..."

"Yeah, I figured that out!" Reimu shouted back. "What do we do?"

"If I can use my Noble Phantasm, I might be able to dispel the snowstorm!"

"Then do it!"

"Just make sure you stop Lancer if he comes for us!"

Reimu nodded, and Saber held her sword out in front of her. It appeared in her hands, and it became clear that Saber was no longer keeping it invisible. Reimu stared in awe at the long, steel blade, magnificent with its gold and blue crossguard and pommel, and the perfectly shaped blade. It began to glow golden, and the blade seemed to grow longer.

A crimson light flickered in the snowstorm. Reimu immediately tracked it down and saw it getting brighter and larger. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and ignored her numbness as Lancer appeared in front of her.

"Your heart is mine!" he cried. "Gae Bolg!"

He drove the spear for her heart, but Reimu floated out of existence as the spear and its wielder went right through her. Too late, Lancer realized what happened and Reimu hit him on the back of his head with her miko stick, sending him crashing into the ground past Saber. For good measure, Reimu tossed talismans at him which promptly exploded, sending the Servant even further away.

The golden glow of Saber's sword was now piercing the top of the snowstorm. Despite the raging storm, her voice was calm as she said, "Sheathed in the breath of stars. A torrent of shining life. Hail! The Sword of Promised Victory!"

She raised the sword high above her head, and Reimu felt her ears pop from the sheer power it was radiating.

" _EX...CALIBER!_ "

She swung the sword, and a loud _FWOOM_ was heard as snow erupted around the area.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"I know I heard a scream!"

"You could've been just hearing things, Marisa."

"Shuddit, Kourin! I swear on everything I stole from you that I did!"

"...so you admit to stealing from me?"

"Erk!"

As Marisa tried to defuse the situation, she looked outside and saw the forest become blanketed with white.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

The snow came back down gently, and Reimu's elemental resistance kicked in as the frost covering her body melted. Nearby, Saber held her hand out as snow landed gently on her palm.

Highly irregular or not, the snow was rather... calming.

"After all this is done, I'd like to find a nice fireplace..." Reimu said.

Saber had to agree with her. It was unusual that the ice fairy's blizzard broke through her natural resistance, and it left her with a small chilly feeling. Indeed, it would be nice if Shirou made her a nice, hot meal...

Both Servant and shrine maiden turned to the sound of footsteps in the snow. Expecting a fight, they both got out their respective weapons and turned to the source. Cirno trudged towards them, eyes downcast, not saying anything. They both tensed up and got into fighting positions, but Cirno didn't react at all and just kept gloomily walking forward. Exchanging a glance, Reimu and Saber lowered their weapons as the little ice fairy came in arms' reach. She then stopped there and did nothing. Then she did something they weren't expecting.

Cirno hugged Reimu. She wasn't crying, or letting any tears out.

"You'll be nice to me, right?" Cirno asked meekly.

Reimu, admittedly, did tend to get grouchy when she was busy. She became rude and cared little for much else except for getting the job done. In other words, she was like most people. And most people, while they would agree to Cirno's request, wouldn't uphold that promise.

But she had to be better than most people. Hugging Cirno back, she promised, "I will."

Cirno nodded. Then she fell asleep right there in the shrine maiden's arms.

 **...**

Lancer grinned at both girls and complimented, "That was a great workout! We should go again sometime!"

Saber returned the smile and responded, "I think I would like that, Lancer. Again, you truly are a worthy foe."

Lancer nodded and waved a hand to the sleeping Cirno before asking, "So, how would you rate my trainee's fighting skills out of ten?"

"I'd give her a solid seven," Saber replied. "Her cryomancy is good, but she could use that in a blend with her ice and snow powers more often."

"I don't know how to judge that stuff," Reimu grumbled.

Clearly Lancer wasn't too happy about the poor answer, but he waved it off. "So you're off to fight another Servant?" he asked. Both Reimu and Saber nodded, and Lancer nodded before saying, "Well, I wish you the best of luck. I hope we have another good match!"

He winked at Reimu. She shuddered.

She and Saber went to leave, but Reimu looked back at Cirno and stopped again. Saber froze in her tracks and turned around. Reimu gulped and looked Lancer straight in the eye.

"Hey, make sure you take care of Cirno, okay?" she asked.

Lancer's earlier flirtatious smile turned into one a bit more solemn.

"You got it," he said before pounding a fist over his heart.

Reimu nodded, satisfied, and this time, when she walked away, she didn't turn back. In the very least, they left the ice fairy feeling like a Beloved Tomboyish Girl.

 **...**

The skinny men darted in and out of the mansion, carrying bones, wood, and meat. Their thoughts were all over the place, and since there were a hundred of them it made it difficult to read all of their minds at once.

Satori, watching them from the balcony, tuned their thoughts out. Though they were doing the work she, or rather, Koishi, had commanded them to, they were rather annoying and, with their bone masks and emaciated bodies, creepy.

It was only because of the fact that they adored their Master did Satori tolerate them. She could get behind that.

"Contractor."

Satori turned to the hulking figure behind her. Flanking him was Utsuho and Rin, who in turn were flanked by Cursed Arm and Serenity respectively. Peeking out behind Cursed Arm was Koishi, who was followed by Zayd.

"What is it?" she asked the massive creature of a Servant.

"I have finished making you a skull mask, if you would like it," the Servant rumbled, holding out a mask just like all of the others wore.

Satori took it and put it on her face. To her surprise, she could see through it and breathe properly.

"Thank you, Gramps," she said.

"Of course, Contractor," King Hassan replied.

 **Hey, guys! Feel free to leave reviews! I'd like to see what you think about this story, what you like, and how I can improve!**


	12. Ordinary Magician and Spectrum Operator

**Yoshiki-909: That's a good question. I sure would hope not. Gramps would take off her head!**

Ordinary Magician and Spectrum Operator

It was to Marisa's amazement that Rinnosuke had a customer. Well, one that wasn't interested in Saint Quartzes.

"No news yet?" Nasupil asked him.

Rinnsouke shook his head sadly and replied, "We've gotten nothing on him yet. Sorry."

As Nasupil and Rinnosuke talked about... whoever _he_ was, Leonidas stood next to Nasupil, unmoving like a sentry. Looking at him, Marisa noticed that the Servant was taller and bulkier than Rinnosuke. Considering the fact that Rinnosuke was taller than her when sitting...

Marisa didn't have a height complex, but that was just annoying.

With a few other words spoken, Nasupil said his farewells to Rinnosuke and turned to leave. Upon exiting, he noticed Marisa standing there and visibly leaned away from her as he walked past.

"Oi, not gonna say hi?" she said.

Nasupil froze and slowly turned around. "Hi," he managed.

Marisa snorted and shrugged before saying, "You need to get out more, ze."

"H-How did you know I d-don't get out much?" he stammered, his voice shaky. "Are y-you watching m-me?"

"No, I-"

Leonidas bounded to Nasupil's side and put himself between his Master and Marisa, pointing his spear at the latter as he shouted, "Do not worry, Master! I'll protect you should this _scum_ try and harm you!"

Marisa mockingly put her hands up in the air as she muttered, "Yeesh, I was only making a jab. No need to get so sensitive, daze."

The Servant's hold on his spear wavered for a moment in thought. After a second, he relaxed and put the spear down. Though he was cowering behind Leonidas a moment ago, Nasupil put up an attempt to act cool and relaxed, but there was a small sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The witch had to wonder if any of them ever did anything fun. That considered, she let out a long sigh as she considered if what she was about to offer was right.

"Hey, wanna check out the Hakurei Shrine with me?" she asked.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

For some reason, Nasupil had resisted coming to the Hakurei Shrine, but Leonidas wasn't hearing it. The large Servant hauled his Master over his shoulder like a ragdoll and hardly struggled from Nasupil's wild thrashing and protests. In order to let them see where she was going, Marisa walked ahead of Leonidas and took to holding his Master so he wouldn't escape. If she could, she would fly on her broomstick but she doubted that, as large as he was, Leonidas would not be able to catch up to her.

Looking to make some conversation, Marisa asked Leonidas: "What's your story, anyway?"

The big man made a sound that could only be described as a _whinny_ before he responded: "I am Leonidas, King of Sparta!"

"Cool."

"I had trained ever since I was a child to become a great warrior, and, with the throne to Sparta being open to me, I took it and became a leader! A king who rules with both his brains and his muscle. My calculations told me that a ruler with both was the best, and so I mastered both!"

"Cool."

"Due to me, Sparta became the strongest city of Greece... besides Athens!"

"Cool."

"Those Persians threatened to destroy my home, and made the calculations to stop them with only three-hundred Spartans, along with six-seven thousand something others, against innumerable enemies! But somehow they managed to come behind us and we were left helpless as the Persians destroyed my forces! My calculations were wrong, and the Persians insulted me for it by beheading me."

Marisa didn't respond to that. It sounded interesting, but, with the size of Leonidas's muscles, she didn't want to insult him on accident.

The story didn't seem to bother him, however, because he asked: "Do you know much about calculus? It is one of my favorite subjects!"

She tuned him out as they continued to the shrine.

Upon arrival, Marisa realized that she hadn't been away from the shrine for long. The roof was still caved in, the leaves were still raked (something she intended to fix later on), and the donation box was still empty.

"Hm! What is this? A training academy?" Leonidas asked, his eagerness clear in his voice as he dropped his Master.

Marisa shook her head and responded, "Nah, just my best friend's place."

Nasupil let out a whimper and tried to leave, but Leonidas grabbed his shoulder.

"Oi, throw him in there!" Marisa told Leonidas, pointing at a pile of leaves.

Leonidas's eyes had an evil glint as he tossed Nasupil into it, and the boy screamed as he flew into the air and flopped down, the dead leaves making a harmony of _crunch_ sounds. With a loud "Whoop whoop!", Marisa leaped in as well, enjoying the sound of crunching leaves.

"Why me..." Nasupil murmured, sounding a bit whiny.

"Grow up, ze," Marisa told him, not allowing his mood to ruin hers.

She then heard a bellow, and looked up just in time to see Leonidas jumping into the pile of leaves.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

Leonidas's head was downcast as he shouted, "I am very sorry, Master! Please forgive my mistake!"

With a small sigh, Nasupil said, "It's fine. Just please remember that we aren't as powerful as you."

Once Leonidas had jumped to the pile of leaves, Marisa had grabbed Nasupil by the wrist, threw him out of the way, and rolled out, just in time for Leonidas to slam into the leaf pile. Nobody was harmed, but Leonidas's reckless move could've broken their ribs.

Now the three were sitting on the shrine's porch in front of the empty donations box. Marisa had nabbed some cider from Reimu's cooler and got one for herself, Nasupil, and Leonidas. It was rather hot outside, and though she wasn't sweating too hard, Marisa did have to wipe her forehead every now and then,

"Hey, mind telling me how you and Reimu met?" Nasupil asked out of the blue.

That was a question Marisa had answered too many times, and always loved answering. Puffing her chest out, she gave him a confident grin.

"Well, young man, let me tell you a story. Long ago, I was just a newbie witch, and I was making bad choices."

"Since when has that been new?" Nasupil shot at her.

"Hey!"

"Sorry..."

Marisa blew her breath out of her nose before clearing her throat and continuing, "Anyways, I made bad choices and was a bad guy back then. I had to defend something bad and something bad happened to me."

"You like saying 'bad' often, don't you?" Nasupil interrupted.

Marisa shot him a look. He backed down. "Anyways," she continued, "I was defending something... evil. Then a certain shrine maiden showed up and beat the crap outta me."

"That's a weird way of making friends."

"Well, we weren't friends yet, ze. After that, I went to some old ruins and found Reimu there, and we... had to fight in order to get a prize. She beat me."

"Oh."

"I visited her after that to check out what she won. Then after that we just... kind of started hanging out. And now..." Marisa thumped a hand to her chest. "...we're best friends!"

Nasupil looked a bit worn down as he muttered, "Geez, is that how people make friends?"

"Actually, yes. I became friends with Alice, Patchouli, Nitori, yadda yadda kind of like that."

The boy stared at his shoes. Marisa nudged him with her elbow.

"Now spill!" she said. "Tell me your story!"

Nasupil looked at Leonidas. The Servant merely said, "Say it!"

Looking glum, the boy said, "Uh... my parents died from sickness when I was a kid. My brother took care of me and we just stayed out of people's hair. Then he just disappeared one day."

A normal person would've tried to ask for details. A normal person would've asked if he was okay. A normal person would be optimistic, maybe try to reassure Nasupil his brother would come back.

"That was boring," Not-So-Normal Marisa said bluntly.

With a chuckle, Nasupil responded, "Yeah, it is. Your story was more interesting. Even if it was short."

The two snorted and took a swig of cider. Marisa noticed that Leonidas bristled, but didn't think much of it. She should have, because a few seconds later Leonidas's head snapped up.

"Master!" the Servant shouted. "There is a Servant coming!"

"Is it hostile?" Nasupil asked, looking on edge.

"No, I do not think so."

Marisa followed Leonidas's gaze, and she found two figures walking through the gate to the shrine. One was an armored figure with a pair of horns sticking out of their helmet. The other was a familiar, blue haired girl with her arms crossed while she stood on a rock that floated over to them.

"Oy, Tenshi!" Marisa called in greeting.

Tenshi Hinanawi gave her a casual look as she replied a bit stiffly, "Marisa."

Her Servant put a hand up in greeting. "Yo."

The Celestial turned away from Marisa and asked Nasupil, "Hey, can we talk for a moment?"

Nasupil's head bobbed nervously as he stood up, Leonidas following the movement. Gritting her teeth, Marisa got up, too.

With a growl, she declared, "If you have something to say to him, then tell it to me, too!"

Tenshi was unusually stoic as she responded, "Sorry, but this is between him and I."

"Oh, shove it up your-"

"It's fine, Marisa," Nasupil mumbled.

Marisa didn't like where this was going. The moment that Tenshi had spoken, Marisa had recognized the hostility that the Celestial had towards her. She usually was a friendly, albeit selfish and arrogant, person, but something in this change of personality...

It just wasn't right.

"If you hurt that kid..." Marisa snarled at Tenshi, even though Nasupil wasn't much younger than herself.

"I won't," Tenshi promised.

She, Nasupil, and their Servants walked out of earshot of Marisa. The witch tried to tune in to the conversation, but all she could hear was Nasupil's rising fear in his voice.

Eventually, Tenshi patted Nasupil on the shoulder and flew away, her Servant following closely. Once they were gone, Marisa walked over to Nasupil.

"What was that all about?" Marisa asked him.

He turned to her, and she didn't like the look in his eyes. Usually, the fear in them was something pathetic, like a child being threatened with a small punishment.

They were filled with a terror, like someone handed a death sentence.

His voice quavering, Nasupil responded, "Sh-she asked me... to j-join a youkai rebellion."


	13. Old Man of the Mountain

**Yoshiki-909: Mmmm...**

Old Man of the Mountain

Both Reimu and Saber couldn't help but glare jealously at the stranger's... assets.

"Shiki told me to meet him at a 'Human Village'!" the well-endowed, blonde girl who couldn't be a year older than themselves told them. "Please tell me where it is!"

Reimu stuck a thumb behind her. "Just follow the trail," she instructed.

The girl nodded in thanks and sped past them.

"I swear I've seen her before," Saber muttered.

"Does it really matter?" Reimu asked.

Saber didn't respond, and the two went back to their trek to the Komeiji Manor.

"Do you mind explaining that sword?" Saber suddenly asked.

Reimu fingered the hilt of the unnamed sword at her waist. She had a general idea about what it did, but she was still in the dark about why she would be given such a 'weapon'.

With a sigh, Reimu told Saber, "Well... when I hit someone in the head with it, I get a memory or something from them. And apparently, it forces them to see it too. That's about it. It doesn't hurt them or anything."

Saber considered her for a few seconds before saying, "Well, that would explain why you used it on a child."

Though Saber's usual stoic demeanor didn't go away, Reimu sensed that the Servant had forgiven her. Thinking about it, Reimu did want to get along with Saber. She seemed like a good friend to have. Maybe a bit clean-cut, but friendly and kind nonetheless.

Deciding on a conversation topic, Reimu asked Saber, "Hey, what's your Master like?"

A smile crawled up on Saber's face as she replied, "Well, my Master's very nice. He's a good cook and a determined warrior. He's reliable and never gives up on his friends. Polite, honest, and maybe a little awkward and he can be stupid at times. But I'm glad he's my Master."

"Your Master sounds like a good guy. What's his name?"

"Shirou Emiya."

The name didn't surface in any of Reimu's memories.

"Well, I hope you find him soon," Reimu said.

Saber nodded. Then her expression turned serious.

"I sense a Servant," Saber told her.

"I see a Servant," Reimu shot back.

Walking on the opposite side of the road was one of Gensokyo's most feared youkai: Yuuka Kazami, her parasol open and blocking the sun from her eyes. Next to her was a man wearing a black suit, his silver, combed hair a bit tousled, and piercing red eyes.

Her heart pounded in her chest, but Reimu managed to stay calm as she whispered to Saber, "Let's ignore them."

Both groups pretended the other didn't exist as they approached each other. Reimu's throat tightened up with fear as she and Yuuka stood side-by-side for a second. She saw the flower youkai smile. Preparing for a fight, her hand clenched her miko stick...

...and just like that, they had their backs to each other. Reimu finally gulped and her hand relaxed.

"Shrine maiden."

The moment Yuuka's Servant said that, a chill colder than Cirno's blizzard went down Reimu's spine. Forcing herself to follow Saber's gaze, she turned around.

Both Yuuka and her Servant were smiling at them.

With her heart hammering in her chest, Reimu held her miko stick tightly. This very encounter was one of her greatest fears: to fight someone stronger than Yukari herself. Even with Saber, she didn't think she could survive such an encounter, especially with that Servant Yuuka had with her.

"H-Hey," Reimu started.

Yuuka put a hand up to tell her to be quiet. Reimu obeyed like a terrified puppy.

"We won't fight you today," Yuuka told her, her voice soft yet so powerful. "I just wanted to warn you. Reimu Hakurei, Arthur Pendragon, that your hold over us youkai won't last much longer."

Reimu was too terrified to even comprehend what she said.

Yuuka turned to her Servant and said, "Let's go, Antonio."

The Servant replied, "Of course, Miss Kazami."

The youkai and Servant walked away, and once they were out of eyeshot, Reimu threw up on the road. She had never felt so scared in her life.

 **...**

Satori Komeiji considered the throne made by the Hassans. It was a monstrous thing made of metal scraps and carved wood, blades and bottles of poison hanging from the armrests and the headboard.

"Gramps," she said. "Is this your idea of a throne?"

Gramps grunted noncommittally. With a sigh, Satori sat down on it.

It was too big. If she tried to sit down with her back to the middle back of the throne, her ankles would dangle off the seat. Only her hands reached the armrests if she sat in the middle. And it was very, very uncomfortable.

"Can... can I have a cushion?" she asked.

One of the Hassan clones came over with a feather pillow. Satori put it underneath her, sat down on it, and crossed her legs and arms. It was better than simply sitting down on it. She closed her eyes, and a jolt went through her brain. Somebody had entered their territory.

"Koishi!" she called.

A few seconds later, her younger sister appeared, followed by one of Hundred-Faces' clones, the child one.

"Yeah, big sis?" Koishi said.

"Can you have all of the Hassans, Utsuho, and Orin gather here? We're going to have guests soon."

Koishi smiled and disappeared. The child Hassan looked around before scampering away.

Satori didn't see why Koishi smiled. She could see how dead her eyes were.

Within a few minutes, the hundreds of Hassans, including Asako, Cursed Arm, and Serenity were in the foyer with her. Along with them, Orin and Utsuho were looking confused at the summons, a good number of zombie fairies behind them.

"We have guests," Satori informed them.

With impeccable timing, the door opened, and the Hassans prepared themselves for a fight.

"Satori Komeiji!" Reimu called.

"Yes?" Satori called back casually.

"Please stop messing with the forest! It's loud, disruptive, and annoying!"

"No thanks."

Reimu flicked out her miko stick, and Saber sighed as she drew out her invisible sword.

"In that case, we'll-" Reimu started.

"Attack," Satori commanded.

The forces within the Komeiji mansion, save for Satori and Gramps, charged at the two intruders. Reimu grabbed Saber's arm and turned them both nonexistent, rushing to the middle of the room as the Hassans ended up in one large, awkward doggy pile. As they returned to existence, Utsuho spun around and aimed her control rod at them.

"Bow to my wrath!" she cried as she released a flaming, nuclear orb at them.

Saber gritted her teeth as she deflected the orb and threw it at Gramps. The large Hassan knocked it aside with the back of his fist. Reimu went to throw talismans at him, but she spotted Cursed Arm extending his hand towards her.

With a dark chuckle, the Assassin shouted, "Writhe in agony!"

Reimu's talismans changed direction as they blew up in Cursed Arm's face, and he slammed into the wall opposite.

"Reimu! Ghost!"

Without question, the shrine maiden faded out of existence as Serenity reached out to touch her. She ended up flying through where Reimu was and flipped herself to her feet. Reimu went back to existence and grinned... until something hard slammed into her ankle.

"Take that!" Orin said gleefully.

The Hassans were regrouping, and the hundreds of them were surrounding Saber and Reimu. Saber held her sword out, unsure if she could deal with this many opponents at once. And Reimu was making sure no permanent damage was done to her ankle.

Satori put on her skull mask, and both Orin and Utsuho followed her lead.

"Continue," Satori said.

This time, the Hassans ran at the two between two second intervals. Every time a personality was destroyed, another would be there, ready to put a dagger between their shoulderblades.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Saber shouted, knowing that they would eventually be too slow, or one of the main Hassans would attack them and finish them off.

Reimu deflected a Hassan's blade and hit him with her miko stick. "I know!"

She glared up at Satori. Underneath her mask, she was utterly emotionless, and Reimu knew it. Maybe if she threw the memory sword at her, then she could shock her and turn the tide.

But looking at Gramps, Reimu didn't like her chances of that happening. Despite the sheer size of the Servant, it was pretty obvious that he could catch it and throw it back at her.

Gritting her teeth, she threw a talisman at another Hassan. They had to do something about this, but there wasn't anything coming to Reimu's mind.

Then something sparked in Saber's instincts. She sent the back of her fist back and hit something. The Hassans stopped attacking, and everybody's eyes drifted to who Saber hit.

Koishi Komeiji lay on her side, bawling her eyes out as she clutched her face.

"My... my nose!" she cried. "Idz broggen!"

They heard a shriek, and Satori ran to her sister's side, throwing her mask off. The Hassans, Orin, and Utsuho parted for her as she went through them. She ignored the fact that she was at Saber and Reimu's mercy as she threw herself over her sister.

"Koishi!" she screamed, her voice full of pain. "Koishi!

Koishi continued to sob, and Reimu took a look around. Nobody was making a sound. The Hassans, pets, and zombie fairies were all staring in fear at what had happened. Saber's mouth was set in a scowl, her eyes full of self-loathing.

Reimu nudged Saber, who shook her head, not meeting her eyes. Deciding that now was the time, Reimu drew out the memory sword and stepped towards Satori. None of the Hassans went to stop her as she stabbed down at Satori.


	14. Memory of the Satori

_You remember there was a time that your sister would smile. When she'd laugh and cheer and hug you, telling you endlessly how much she loved you. She'd play and pull pranks and show your pets affection. She told you how much she wanted to be just like you, her cool, levelheaded sister. She loved you. She loved her friends. She loved her life._

 _The humans ruined everything._

 _She comes back after meeting humans. You ask her how things went, but then you look into her mind anyway. The humans had bullied her, thrown her out of their way like she was the scum of Gensokyo, not a delightful child. Being the optimistic older sister you are, you encourage her to try again. Show them how good of a person she is. Her thoughts brighten up and she smiles as she agrees to try again the next day._

 _When she returns, her eyes are red and a cut above her eyebrow. You see that she tried to talk to the children, but once they found out that she was a satori they threw things at her, and she ran away sobbing. You hold her close and comfort her, telling her that it would be alright._

 _Going by your words of trying again, she keeps leaving in the morning to try and make friends. Everyday she comes back crying, occasionally bruised or bleeding. Everyday you hug her, telling her that things would be alright. Every day you see her eating at the table, her joy fading into a fake smile, false laughs, lies of happiness. Everyday you feel your hatred for humans growing. How dare they do such a thing to your precious sister...!_

 _Then one day, she returns unharmed, not a tear has slipped from her eye the entire day. It turns out she went and visited a shopkeeper nearby the Forest of Magic who was actually nice to her. When she told him about her interactions with humans, he told her about a few youkai who suffered at the hands of humans, including himself._

 _She then brushes past you, her mind blank. You decide to let her think about things for herself._

 _Later that night, your sister hasn't come down for dinner. You had your cat make her favorite meal for her, and told her as well. She hasn't come out of her room and hasn't spoken a word. Her mind is still blank._

 _At this point, you begin to worry. Something should've popped into her mind._

 _Then your cat says that one of the knives are missing. You get out of your chair and run upstairs. Your sister couldn't have...!_

 _You slam the door open without knocking, and your worst fears are confirmed: your sister sits down in a pool of blood, the missing knife buried in her third eye._

 _Screaming her name, you kneel down in front of her and shake her. She won't look at you. Desperate for her to reply, you hug her like you had many times before._

 _But warmth can only do so much._

 _"Onee-san?"_

 _You release her and look her straight in the eyes._

 _They are dead._

 _"I can't feel the love..."_


	15. Wish of the Satori

_Those damned humans!_

 _They took my sister away from me! They stole her future, her happiness, her love!_

 _If I ever got the chance, if I ever had the ability to do so..._

 _I would rip their damn heads off and let their last moments be spent looking at my sister, knowing the suffering they caused her._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 ** _MASTER, YOU WISH FOR AN ARMY TO CREATE DEATH?_**

 ** _GUIDE OUR BLADES, AND WE WILL CREATE A RAIN OF DEATH ON YOUR COMMAND._**


	16. 3rd Eye Satori Maiden

3rd Eye Satori Maiden

The moment she got out of the vision, Reimu stepped away from Satori and went back to Saber's side. The Hassans all around them were staring, wordless and their expressions hidden behind their masks.

It was clear, however, they were all terrified.

Still kneeling down next to her sister, Satori's breaths became heavy and fast. She was facing downward, so Reimu and Saber couldn't see her expression.

Remembering her encounters with Cirno and Sekibanki, Reimu spoke tentatively, "Satori, are you-"

Satori looked up at them. Her eyebrows were down in an angry V, her mouth was set in a scowl with her jaws locked so tightly it looked painful. A vein bulged in her head as her hands closed into fists, and blood began streaming down her knuckles.

" _Gramps!_ " she screamed. " _Kill them!_ "

Gramps got up from his post next to the throne and stomped towards Reimu and Saber. The Hassans, Utsuho, and Orin stepped back, and both Servant and shrine maiden raised their weapons, ready for a fight.

The Grand Assassin swung his sword at Saber once, and the Servant crashed into the wall opposite and created a three foot deep crater into it.

Reimu looked up at King Hassan, and she flew back and threw talismans at him. He stomped towards her, and the talismans exploded on his armor but left him unmarred.

" _Kill... don't hurt... innocent..._ " Satori rambled insanely as King Hassan began doing his job.

King Hassan teleported right in Reimu's face, and she held out her miko stick to block his slice. The blade didn't hit her, but the sheer force from the swing caused her to get crushed into the ground, and she shook herself as she got up. Saber began attacking King Hassan with her sword, but the giant of a Servant was not amused.

" _ **DOKODA!**_ " he shouted.

A blue flame erupted underneath Saber, and she cried out as it consumed her. Desperate to do something, anything to stop King Hassan, Reimu charged at him and stabbed at his eyeholes with her miko stick. He responded by grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground.

With a gulp, Orin told Satori, "Miss Satori, I think that's enough! We can let them go now!"

" _Destroy... rip... tear... Koishi… stop..._ " Satori continued to ramble.

Orin locked eyes with Utusho, and both nodded.

"Stop King Hassan!" Orin commanded the other Hassans.

They nodded, and as one giant force, they leap at their Great Founder. The King Hassan merely shrugged them off whenever they grabbed a part of him, and he simply proceeded to grab Saber by the arm and spin her over his head.

" _Pay... end... don't... didn't deserve..._ "

With a mighty toss, King Hassan tossed Saber out of the mansion, smashing through the walls and she landed on the ground, unconscious. He turned his attention to Reimu, slicing open a Hassan and planting his sword in the floor.

" _Koishi… dear... kill... slaughter... sister... animals..._ "

Grabbing Cursed Arm, King Hassan batted him against Asako and set Serenity ablaze. Free from all distractions, he stomped towards the shrine maiden, who was starting to get up, but Orin and Utsuho stepped in his way.

" _Monsters... sadness... stolen..._ "

Orin's wheelbarrow clanged against King Hassan's ankle, and he grabbed the cat by the throat and threw her at Utsuho, who was too late to ready her Control Rod. With a glare, they were both set aflame.

" _Unfair... Koishi… don't hurt..._ "

As King Hassan grabbed Reimu's face, it became clear that the mansion had become a place of slaughter. The Hassans were all on the ground, groaning or crying in pain as blood gushed from various wounds. Others lie dead, and were beginning to vanish. Saber was unconscious outside, bleeding out with nobody to help her. Utsuho and Orin, Satori's own pets, were unmoving and had suffocated from the smoke. Satori was still kneeling over Koishi, who was sobbing from the pain from her nose and the sound of so much violence.

" _Don't hurt... don't hurt..._ "

Slamming her into the ground, Reimu cried out in pain as King Hassan dropped her there. He began to mount her waist, and Reimu stared as he brought an armored fist back.

"Please..." she managed to croak. She didn't want to die. Not like this, helpless and unable to fight back.

The Grand Assassin had no pity as he slammed his fist into her temple. Reimu's vision wobbled and her ears began to ring. Then another punch slammed into her skull. Followed by another. And another. Reimu couldn't think straight. She wanted her last memories to be of her with her friends, her mother, and most of all, she wanted to at least remember Marisa and apologize for not being able to drink with her one last time, for failing to save Gensokyo.

If only King Hassan would stop for a second, she'd be able to produce a coherent thought.

" _Don't hurt...! Don't hurt...!_ "

King Hassan brought a fist back for a killing blow, and Reimu managed to send one last message, one that would never be heard.

 _Marisa... I'm sorry..._

" _DON'T HURT KOISHI!_ "

King Hassan sent his fist hurtling towards Reimu, but the shrine maiden was already unconscious. Her last memory was of a loud roar, and the knowledge that she had been killed by the 3rd Eye Satori Maiden.

 **...**

The boy trudged around in the burned home, calling desperately for someone. He wiped his eyes, afraid he had been left alone.

"Where are you?" he called.

He stopped as he reached the field, and reality hit him.

"Did you... leave me?"


	17. Wrough Iron Scarlet Devil

**aliesterus:** **MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's my specialty.**

Wrought Iron Scarlet Devil

Marisa popped her head off Reimu's pillow, covered in cold sweat. She sat there, gasping for a few seconds before wiping her forehead and letting out a long sigh.

"The hell was that?" she asked herself.

Sitting there for a bit longer, she eventually let out a big sigh and swung herself off the bed and picked up her broom from the doorframe.

After the weird encounter with Tenshi the previous day, Marisa decided to stay around in the shrine for the night, if only because she didn't like the chances of Nasupil, the poor kid, going off without being forcibly enlisted into some youkai rebellion. Right now, he and Leonidas were lying on a mat that Reimu kept around for guests, the Servant making horse sounds that apparently qualified as snoring and the kid groping around in his sleep, tossing back and forth.

Seeing this, Marisa put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"What am I going to do about you?" she said, amused.

The moment those words left her lips, Nasupil's eyes snapped open and his pupils dilated, staring at her.

Putting her hands up, the witch murmured, "Okay, no staring, creepy."

His gaze relaxed, and he sat up, saying, "Sorry about that. I'm just..."

"On edge? Terrified? About to piss your pants?"

Nasupil gave her a withering look... well, it would have been if he didn't look so weak.

"Come on, hurry up," Marisa told him. "Imma go visit Remilia today. We gotta chat about something."

The Spectrum Operator's eyes brightened and a smile itched at his mouth. "Lady Remilia Scarlet?"

"Er-yeah."

He fist pumped, and Marisa decided not to press the question.

She waited out front as Nasupil fixed his hakama and Leonidas snapped out of his sleep. Then they both walked over to her, looking excited.

"Alright, ladies," Marisa said, grinning as both guys had a reaction. "Let's go!"

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

Somehow, Marisa always ended up running into Shirou.

"Hey, is that...?" she started once he came into view, and Nasupil nodded in confirmation.

It was indeed Shirou, who was taking a small step back behind a woman who was standing next to him. She was tall, elegant, and wore a Chinese dress, orange hair billowing past her waist, and had a smile that wasn't wavered even by the people she was facing: Rumia and a large, black knight who had smoke surrounding his body.

Shirou looked a bit apprehensive as he said, "Hey, Mom...?"

The woman waved what he said away and replied, "It'll be fine, Shirou. Just let things come to pass."

The knight put his face right up to Shirou's, and the young man visibly gulped. Rumia, arms out as usual, just smiled as this happened.

"Oy!" Marisa shouted. "The heck's going on here?"

Rumia turned to her and put a finger to her lips. The black knight continued to observe Shirou and...

...he turned away and stomped past Marisa and co. Rumia shrugged and floated after him, leaving Shirou relieved as he let out a long sigh.

"That was close..." he said.

The woman patted him on the back, her smile not moving at all.

Marisa walked over and asked, "What was that all about?"

Gaining his composure back, Shirou told her, "Well, that girl and her Servant just passed by my mom and I, and then he just started... checking me out."

"What a perv. And he has poor taste, too."

"Hey!"

His mother smiled and offered a hand to Marisa in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kirisame. My name's Junko."

The name rung a bell, but Marisa pushed that aside as she shook the woman's hand.

"Yeah, sure," she said.

Nasupil and Leonidas hung around in the back, both looking uncomfortable. Whether it was from Rumia or Junko, Marisa wasn't sure, but she had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.

Junko patted Marisa's cheek in a motherly kind of way and said, "We'll be going now. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Wait, mom," Shirou said.

The woman turned to her son and asked, "Yes, dear?"

"Can I go with them for today?"

Her mouth didn't move, but suddenly Junko's smile seemed to drop to sub-zero levels.

Finally, she said, "Oh, go ahead. Just be ready in time for supper."

Shirou nodded, and Junko walked away.

With an awkward pause, they all stood there for a few seconds before Nasupil asked Shirou, "You wanna come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"

Shrugging, the other boy replied, "Sure, why not?"

They began their trek to the home of Remilia Scarlet, and, conversationally, Leonidas asked Marisa, "How is your life?"

To the point. She liked that.

"My life is great," she remarked. "I mean, going out to exterminate youkai with my best buddy, hanging out with Alice and collecting stuff, and stealing books from Patchouli. Then, I finally get to mess with Kourin on the weekend."

With a chuckle, Shirou remarked, "That's an exciting life, I'd say."

Nasupil nodded, and Leonidas seemed to consider her answer.

Jabbing a finger at Shirou, Marisa asked, "So, anything exciting with your life?"

"Not really," Shirou admitted. "I mostly just stay at home with mom and Aunt Hecatia, play board games, cook, or clean."

Something about the name of Shirou's aunt made alarm gongs ring in Marisa's head, but she couldn't remember and ended up bagging it.

Turning to Nasupil, Shirou asked, "Well, what about you?"

The boy shrugged and replied, "I just stay home, get paid to color things, and buy food to eat."

Marisa laughed and said, "Wow, that's boring!"

Nasupil smiled and shrugged, like _What can you do?_

They began chatting and cracking jokes, mostly about each others' bad habits, and eventually Leonidas joined in. Unfortunately, this caused them to almost crash into the two old men.

"Watch your step."

All four of them looked up from their chatting to see a pair of old guys, both wearing traditional hakamas, one brown and black, the other green and white, katanas at their sides. None of them could tell which old man spoke. They considered the group, eyes attentive.

Without a word, the green and white one straightened out Nasupil's own hakama and walked past them. The other man followed him.

Watching them go, Nasupil asked, "What was that all about?"

"I'm not sure, Master," Leonidas informed him, "...but one of them was a Servant, and neither were hostile."

The gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion came into view, and they could see the gateguard Hong Meiling snoring. They got closer, and Meiling's eyes snapped open and she got into a fighting pose.

"Yo, Meiling!" Marisa went as a greeting.

Meiling, clearly not recognizing the other three, scanned them, mouth in a straight line. It was clear she was gauging their auras. She frowned at Leonidas, her eyes widened at Nasupil, then she scowled at Shirou.

"Hey, when did you learn how to shapeshift?" she demanded.

Shirou looked confused as he repeated, "'Shapeshift'?"

Meiling nodded, and, trying to find a way out of this, Marisa kicked the gates open and called, "Come on, let's go already!"

Looking between Marisa and Meiling, all three guys eventually followed Marisa, leaving the gateguard glaring at them.

Inside the mansion, fairies cleaned any physical surface: floors, walls, windows, carpets... and all that made the mansion smell like cleaning fluid.

Usually Marisa would steal books from under Patchouli's nose, but she wanted to go meet the head honcho herself, Marisa began walking upstairs to Remilia's room, where she assumed the vampire would be. Leonidas, Nasupil, and Shirou began following her. At the top of the stairs, Sakuya was wiping the wall, humming and smiling.

"You look happy," Marisa remarked.

Sakuya turned to them, still smiling, and responded, "Yes."

"Well... got a story why?"

The Head Maid disappeared. She probably didn't want to chat.

Hearing a door open then slam closed, Marisa noted it and went over to the source. Funnily enough, it came from the direction of Remilia's room.

"Geez, how big is this place?" Nasupil muttered.

In front of the master bedroom, Marisa saw Remilia sitting down next to the door, her face between her knees.

"Oy, Remi!" Marisa greeted, not considering what might have happened.

Remilia's head snapped up, her eyes red. Seeing Marisa and co., she got up and brushed her dress off.

"Marisa Kirisame. C-Crass as ever," she greeted, hiccupping when she said 'crass.'

"Were you crying?" Marisa asked bluntly.

"No."

Marisa nodded sarcastically. The guys were eyeing Remilia warily. Seeing how Marisa clearly didn't believe her, Remilia raised an eyebrow at the Ordinary Magician. Marisa didn't back down and held her gaze.

Then the master bedroom door opened, and a young, tanned man with stark-white hair wearing a red cloak walked out.

"Master," he said to Remilia, "...while I am sorry about hurting you, I'm not taking back what I sai-"

He noticed the others, and looked past Marisa and saw Shirou. His face contorted to utter rage, and he shoved past Marisa and grabbed the boy by the collar.

"Ouch, ze!" Marisa cried, but nobody paid attention to her.

Lifting Shirou to eye level, the man shouted, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Shirou was surprisingly calm as he replied, "I have no idea who you are."

"Stop lying!"

"I'm not!"

Leonidas grabbed the man by the shoulder and said, "Let him go."

Next to him, Nasupil looked a bit panicked but made no move to leave. Marisa herself was utterly bewildered at the scene.

Reluctantly, the man dropped Shirou, who landed on his feet and gave him a hard stare. The man gave him one last look of contempt before walking away.

Glaring at him as he went, Marisa turned to Remilia and asked, "Who was that?"

"My Servant."

Marisa rolled her eyes before asking again, "What's his name?"

"Mm. He said his name was... EMIYA."

Recognizing the name, not from Rinnosuke's books, Marisa whirled to Shirou and asked, "Do you know him?"

Shirou shook his head. "Never seen him before in my life."

Marisa frowned.

 _"Hey, when did you learn how to shapeshift?"_

The gatekeeper's words echoed in Marisa's head. She had an idea of what was going on, but it sounded too weird.

"Hey, why isn't your Servant Vlad or something?" Marisa asked, remembering the vampire listed in Rinnosuke's book.

Remilia shrugged before replying, "I wanted a cook. EMIYA is an excellent one."

Marisa could tell that she was lying. But clearly the real answer hurt, but-

"You're lying," Marisa accused the Scarlet Devil.

Remilia glared at her. She then huffed and flew away.

Feeling annoyed, Marisa didn't notice the fairy servant tapping her shoulder right away. Once she did, the fairy just gave her a letter and flew away. Opening it, Marisa read what was contained within.

 _"Go find Yuyuko Saigyouji. Reimu will need your help."_

"Sketchy," Marisa muttered. "But I got nothing better to do."

Nasupil stared at her and asked, "What is it?"

With a grin, happy to finally have something to do, Marisa turned to the guys and asked, "So, who wants to see the Saigyou Ayakashi?"

 **...**

 **I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit weak. I had written it all out but I accidentally stored all tabs before it saved... and I couldn't exactly remember what I wrote so it came out like this.**

 **Anyways, I always love getting reviews from you guys! I want to hear your thoughts! So please review!**

 **Also, to find out what Sakuya was so happy about, read by _Touhou/Dark Souls_ crossover, _Strings._ It won't be relevant in this story.**


	18. Sharp and Pointy Things

**Yoshiki-909: Well, I mean, Irisviel's never met Shirou before, so I'm not sure if she'd say anything. Also, was that a _damn Food Wars_ _reference?!_**

 **Guest: Those are some really good questions. I'll answer them here...**

 **.**

 _ **Q1: When is this story placed?**_

 **The story is placed after HSiFS. Not that many of the events there are important at the moment.**

 _ **Q2 and Q3:**_

 **And as for the nerfing and lack of danmaku...**

 **It's part of a Moriya Shrine conspiracy.**

 **Okay, seriously.**

 _ **Q2: Why are Reimu (and Marisa by extension) weaker?**_

 **I nerfed Reimu, Marisa, and quite a lot of characters in order to let the Servants be able to shine instead of being meatshields. Of course, I did wank Cirno and I suppose Gramps quite a bit.**

 _ **Q3: Why is there a lack of danmaku?**_

 **There's an in-universe explanation for that. So you have Servants who fight with you, right? Danmaku battles are often fought in the air, and really, there are hardly any Servants who can fly, and it would be tiring, boring, and pointless to have Saber continually jump at Cirno, slice at her once, and fall back down to repeat the process. Now we have the opposite issue of the Servants being meatshields. Not to mention, if you're going to summon a Servant who's just going to just attack your target after jumping every few times, it would be pointless to summon it to begin with.**

 **Plus, I generally wanted some _Fate_ style fights with _Touhou_ characters.**

 **I hope that answered your questions! If you have any more, feel free to ask!**

Sharp and Pointy Things

 _Mommy! Mommy!_

Reimu groaned and rolled to her side.

 _Mommy! Mommy! It's so bright outside!_

Her head hurt. She rolled to the other side.

 _Mommy! Mommy! My feet hurt!_

A hard throb. With a weak moan of agony, she put a hand to her head.

 _Mommy! Mommy! Get up!_

"My head!"

 _Mommy! Mommy! Please wake up!_

"It hurts! Arrgh!"

 _Mommy! Mommy! What's happening?!_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

 _Mommy! Mommy! Why_

"Reimu, open your eyes."

The hammer knocking on the inside of her head stopped, and the shrine maiden let her eyelids open.

"You're looking pretty good for someone whose face was mush a few minutes ago," Yukari Yakumo went as a way of greeting.

Reimu glared at her, not sure why she was here or how she got there. But she did have a faint idea that somehow would explain everything.

 **.**

As King Hassan went to hit Reimu with a killing blow, a loud roar was heard. Looking to find the source of the sound, he turned to the right... and was promptly run over by a train and was shot out of the Komeiji mansion.

 **.**

 _Sounds like something Yukari would do,_ Reimu thought.

"I thought you needed a little help," Yukari explained a bit too lightly for Reimu's tastes. "So of course I-"

"Yeah, I get it, you old hag," Reimu interrupted rudely. "Now do you mind telling me what you want?"

Yukari's smile grew as Reimu called her out on her bluff. "Well, you and your Servant have a guest."

As Yukari floated away, Reimu grumbled, "She's not my Servant..."

In the Yakumo residence's foyer, Ran and Chen were standing diligently (loosely in Chen's case) by the door, and Saber was already awake, having a spat with one of the three guests.

"Get out of my face, King of Kings," Saber snarled, saying 'King of Kings' like a curse.

The golden-clad Servant laughed, "That's what I love about you, Saber."

Immediately recognizing Saber's discomfort (for lack of a better term), Reimu walked to her side and asked, "Want me to kick this loser in the groin?"

"Please do," Saber said, her teeth gritted tightly.

"I'll do you one better," Yukari said, and raised her fist, where a strange red tattoo was on the back of her hand. "Archer, I command you to shut the hell up."

Archer's bottom jaw _clacked_ loudly as it was forced shut, and he cried out angrily and glared at Yukari with contempt. The tattoo on Yukari's hand slightly faded away, but then returned.

The other two guests finally said something.

"...it's good to see you again, my king," Gawain said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Eiki had her eyes shut in irritation, grasping the Rod of Remorse with both hands.

A slight tinge of annoyance ran through Reimu as she asked, "So, Eiki, did you send a get well card?"

Eiki's eyes opened and she glared at the Shrine Maiden. "This is a serious matter, Reimu Hakurei," she told her.

"Yeah, so is my roof."

Eiki grabbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. "No, something more important than that."

"What could be more important than my roof?"

"A youkai rebellion."

Reimu snorted. A vein bulged in Eiki's forehead, and Yukari sucked the air between her teeth.

"Listen here, Reimu Hakurei," Eiki said, her voice soft but heavy with anger. "...if you don't take this seriously, you may just find the Human Village filled with the bones of _your kind_ ," she said 'your kind' like a curse, "...and those who remain becoming cattle to create more humans for youkai to use for food. And, I can promise you this, if you choose not to act on the rebellion, you will never find Heaven."

The Rod of Remorse had lengthened to match Saber's sword, but Eiki didn't seem to notice. Reimu gulped, wondering if things were that bad.

"Should... should I forget about Yuyuko then?" Reimu asked.

"No, if she stays out of line, she may end up repeating the same incident she created years ago. That's what neglect does," Eiki told her.

"I can change your boundaries of flight," Yukari offered.

"Are you sure about that?" Reimu asked.

Yukari nodded, and Eiki said, "You should get on your way. This should be resolved quickly."

"Before we go," Saber said, "...can you tell us who's creating this rebellion?"

Eiki's eyes narrowed. Then she answered.

"Seija Kijin."

 **...**

Marisa had to tell Shirou and Leonidas where to go and then take Nasupil to his house so he could pick up his dai-katana.

While Nasupil scrummaged around in his room, Marisa leaned on the wall outside and asked, "Oy, you can use a sword?"

"Yeah," Nasupil called back. "My brother knew some stuff and taught me it. I'm not as good as him, but I'll do my best."

"So, is your power really changing colors?" Marisa decided to ask, just for the sake of conversation.

She heard Nasupil sigh, and he replied, "No, I can borrow the properties of anything."

"Pfft, what?"

After a pause, he replied, "Okay, so I can change the color of, say, my dishes to green, right? The color comes from the grass, and if the grass changes its color, like it dies, the dish returns to normal, and I have to find another patch of grass to turn it green again. But I can also do something like... take the density and hardness from a stone and give it to a wooden mallet. Or the sharpness of a blade to my hand. And, if I was allowed to, I could probably use anyone's powers."

"Probably?"

"Yeah, I can't do it without permission. Let's take this for example...

"Let's say I wanted to use Leonidas's powers, yeah? His strength, his speed, his skill, whatever. If he really did, truly allow me to use them, I could borrow it all. I'd be able to use it at full power, not the slightest bit different than how he uses it.

"But if he kinda doubted me, even a bit, the powers I borrowed would return to him, and I wouldn't be able to use them at all. Anybody I borrow from needs to completely trust me with their powers."

"Ah, I get it," Marisa responded, not really getting it.

As she said that, Nasupil walked out of his room, a long, two-handed katana strapped to his back.

"Although..." Marisa realized, "...I gotta point something out. You have this power, but everybody thinks you control colors or something. It's pretty frickin' obvious that you don't say anything about it. Why don't you tell them? Is it a secret or something? Got a past trauma?"

"No," Nasupil said plainly. "Nobody asked."

Marisa gave him a thousand-yard stare.

"What?"

"That's your poor-ass excuse?" Marisa grumbled.

"Yeah," he replied. "I can't exactly do anything really dangerous unless I have permission to."

Marisa gave him a look that said she didn't believe his bullshit. Nasupil held her gaze with an expression saying he didn't have bullshit.

Finally, Marisa rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, Shirou and Leonidas will be waiting.

 **...**

"There it is," Reimu said.

Up in the sky was the entrance to the Netherworld, and both heroines looked up at it grimly.

Looking at the Servant, Reimu asked: "Are you ready to fly?"

Saber nodded, and her feet lifted off the ground.

Shortly before they left, Yukari had changed the boundaries of Saber's flying ability so she could do so just as well as Reimu. Though Saber would only need to fly up to the Netherworld entrance, it was vital that she learned enough to handle it or else she'd plummet to the ground and make a Servant pancake, so they ended up practicing on their way here. Reimu noted that, while Saber was a bit stone-faced, she was rather clumsy but adapted quickly, and though she wasn't as good as... pretty much anybody in Gensokyo, she could probably make it to the Netherworld.

Reimu began flying up to the Netherworld entrance, keeping at Saber's speed. Right now, the Servant was slightly tilting off balance at times, but she quickly corrected herself each time.

 _It'll be fine,_ Reimu thought to herself.

Okina was probably mocking her as she thought that.

" _Saber!_ " a furious roar cut through the air.

Reimu, hearing the anger in the voice, whipped out her miko stick. At the same time, Saber's face was filled with joy as she turned around and said, "Shirou?"

Flying towards them were two male figures, both catching up to the duo and wearing a jetpack each. One was a ripped man wearing only a loincloth, a cape, and a helmet covering his face, a shield in one hand and a spear in the other. The other was a boy around Saber and Reimu's age, orange-haired and holding two small, curved blades.

Saber began flying towards the boy, but her smile faltered as she saw the look on his face: one of primal rage.

Managing to put her sword in a guard position, Saber barely managed to block Shirou's two swords, if only because she had been expecting a more joyful reunion. Leonidas flew up to them, looking more confused than anything.

"Shirou! What is the matter?!" he demanded.

As he was kicked away by Saber, who had to regain balance, Shirou shouted, "I know her! I hate her!"

"That's a weird vendetta you have there," Reimu snorted, putting herself in between Shirou and Saber. "Got a good reason?"

Shirou's face flickered with confusion, like he didn't know the answer himself.

"Shirou Emiya, you are my Master, remember?" Saber asked, her expression hardened once again.

While Shirou began to look even more confused, Reimu remembered Saber talking about her Master. For a reliable guy who never gives up on his friends, he sure was hostile to his own Servant.

Instead of replying, Shirou chose to fly at Saber again, and this time Leonidas grabbed his arms and tried to hold him back.

"Go to the Netherworld! Hurry!" Leonidas shouted.

Reimu glanced at Saber, who nodded. Both girls flew up into the Netherworld, away from Saber's Master, the Master she'd been yearning to see again, to complete their mission.

 **...**

Youmu Konpaku had been sparring with a partner when the Shrine Maiden and the Servant walked up to them.

"Youmu!" Reimu called.

Youmu and her partner stopped and sheathed their katanas.

"Reimu Hakurei," Youmu greeted diplomatically.

Clearing her throat, Reimu said, "So, let's do this the easy way. You and your Servaaaaaa…"

Reimu trailed off, and she had caught sight of Youmu's Servant, who...

Saber walked up to the Servant, who mirrored her action. Other than a few color changes, a difference in clothing, and the fact the other Servant had a katana...

"You look just like me," both Servants said at the same time.

Reimu just stared at both of the... Saberfaces… and Youmu had done the exact same thing.

Eventually, both backed a few steps away, and Saber said, "It doesn't matter who you are. We're here to talk to your Master-"

"She's right here," the Japanese Saber, _Sakura Saber_ is what Reimu decided to call her, said.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Reimu sighed. "I mean _her_ Master."

"She's not a Servant."

Reimu gave her a deadpan look before getting out her miko stick and talismans. "That's it. I'm kicking your ass so hard your tongue is going to come out of your mouth."

"Whoa!" Saber exclaimed.

Sakura Saber and Youmu both drew out their blades, and the half-ghost whispered, "Are you sure you don't want to take it back?"

"Are you sure she can hear you?" Sakura Saber asked.

A vein bulged in Youmu's head, and both swordmasters leaped at Reimu and Saber.

 **...**

"Well... those jetpacks are busted up," Shirou muttered.

"I'll just tell Nitori they were faulty and so I want a refund," Marisa said airily.

Because Leonidas, Shirou, and Nasupil couldn't fly, Marisa had... _borrowed_ some of Nitori's jetpacks and gave them to her allies. Now, all four of them had managed to cross into the Netherworld, and if one thing was for certain...

Shirou was damn _pissed._

Apparently, according to Leonidas, Shirou had seen his Servant and tried to attack her. He stated he hated her, but he couldn't seem to find a reason to do it.

From Marisa's guess (and the fact she could hear metal on metal and see bright lights coming from an area in the distance), his Servant was the girl who destroyed Reimu's roof.

 _You're not my Master_ , she had said.

What were the chances?

Remembering that day, Marisa's hand involuntarily drifted to her skirt pocket. The Saint Quartz was still there.

After Saber had crashed through the roof, Marisa had found her Saint Quartz undamaged in the pit that Saber made. She took it and decided to use it some other time.

Deciding to deal with that dilemma later, Marisa pointed in the direction of the fighting and shouted, "Alright, let's go save the-"

She was interrupted by her own surprise of seeing two old guys walk up to them. They both seemed familiar.

"Hey, we've seen them before, right?" Shirou whispered.

He was right. Marisa remembered them from their trek to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The green one had adjusted Nasupil's hakama before both just left without a word.

Now both still had their katanas, but drawn from their sheathes.

"Whoa whoa whoa, crazy old dudes, we don't mean to offend or anything," Marisa said, being pretty offensive, "...but we just wanna see Yuyuko, capiche?"

"Sorry, but I cannot let you do that," the green one said.

"Why not?"

"Because my mistress commanded it."

"And who's your mistress?"

By now, all three guys had figured out who the heck the old guy was and were all giving Marisa looks. Considering them, she looked at the old guy again and finally realized that he looked familiar in another way.

"Are you related to Youmu?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I am Youki Konpaku."

"And I am Yagyu Munemori," the other man said.

Whispering to her allies, Marisa asked, "So... who wants to fight two old dudes with swords?"

Reluctantly, everybody got out their gear. Little known to Marisa, she was the only one who didn't want to fight because she thought she could win.

 **...**

Saber and Sakura Saber dashed around, swinging their swords in what could basically be described as the world's deadliest, random dance ever. Between Saber's heavy sword and large but rather fast attacks and Sakura Saber's small sword and quick but weaker slices, the Saberfaces kept dashing around and cutting just about everything apart.

Youmu and Reimu, on the other hand, fought sword and sword on staff/miko stick, and right now it was clear that Youmu had the upper hand. Reimu was good at fighting, but Youmu had clearly been training for much longer.

Summoning her yin-yang orbs, Reimu flew back and launched them at Youmu, who sliced them both in half before dodging the talismans that followed soon after. Dashing at Reimu, she swung one sword that Reimu turned nonexistent to avoid, and she returned to reality to find Youmu's second sword coming for her neck. Managing to get her miko stick up in time to block it, she sucked her teeth in as Youmu's sword cut her arm, and her blood trickled freely to the earth.

"Shit..." Reimu said under her breath.

"Don't try to escape," Youmu said to her. "There will be no help."

Right as she said that, a familiar blast of rainbow lights flew over their heads.

Youmu was silent for a moment before muttering, "I take it back."

 **...**

The two old men were definitely a lot stronger than Marisa thought.

The old man Yagyu went against both Leonidas and Shirou and, despite the fact that Shirou seemed to be able to summon and use two curved blades pretty well, he was wiping the floor with both of them. Leonidas tried to block him with his shield, but Yagyu went under and swept Leonidas's legs from beneath him and followed up with deflecting Shirou's attack. He kept on switching back and forth between Leonidas and Shirou, and despite the 2 v 1, he was handing himself very well.

Marisa and Nasupil, on the other hand, went against Youki. Though Nasupil had a longer sword than Youki, the geezer took advantage of Nasupil's smaller stature, weaker muscles, and heavier weapon and constantly deflected the boy's attacks before going for an arm or a leg. For his credit, Nasupil wasn't a terrible fighter. His attacks were competent but left much to be desired, and he did avoid some of Youki's attacks. Marisa flew above from her broom and fired blasts from her Mini-Hakkero to cover him, but Youki always avoided or deflected her attacks and went back to fighting Nasupil.

"Oi, lay off the kid!" Marisa shouted.

Youki didn't even acknowledge her at all, pissing her off further. He flicked his sword, and with a loud _clang_ Nasupil's dai-katana flew from his hands and fell to the ground with a clatter behind him. If Nasupil wanted to get his sword back, he'd have to run past Youki, who would surely slice him in half from the waist-up. And just because the kid was half-youkai, it didn't mean he would survive that.

Instead, Nasupil got into a fighting stance, his hands flat and raised as if he was going to do a vicious karate chop with both hands. Youki, his face filled with disappointment, swung his sword down at Nasupil, who raised his arms up...

..and the sword cut through his hakama but was deflected off his arms.

Nasupil's arms reflected the environment around them.

He had taken his sword's property.

Going on the attack, Nasupil used his own arms against Youki this time, but it was clear his offensive strength just came from swinging his arms and nothing else.

Now it wasn't safe for Marisa to try to help him out. Without a weapon, Nasupil was right up in Youki's face with his swings, and Marisa knew that if she missed an attack, she'd hit Nasupil and leave him open for Youki to hit. Her combat skills weren't all that good with melee, and something told her that if she hit Youki with her broom, she'd need to find a new one.

Calling Leonidas or Shirou would be a problem. Both were already struggling on their own. And, assuming the fight in the distance was Reimu and/or Saber, they wouldn't get there in time before Youki got a good hit on Nasupil.

 _Only one thing left,_ Marisa thought.

She brought her Saint Quartz out and smashed it against the ground.

 **...**

"Think Marisa's going to make a grand entrance?" Youmu asked.

"Probably," Reimu replied.

Both stood there, weapons at their sides, watching where the Master Spark had come from while the Saberfaces fought.

Then five golden stars appeared up above, followed by a sort of... card depicting a man with a lance. Then it faded.

"She got a five star Servant?!" Youmu screamed out of nowhere.

Looking at her incredulously, Reimu said, "What?"

 **...**

The teal-haired woman didn't even look at Marisa as she shoved Nasupil out of the way and deflected Youki's sword with the shaft of her spear.

"Whoa, okay," Marisa grumbled. "I didn't realize Servants were so unresponsive."

Lancer attacked Youki savagely and took advantage of her longer weapon. Keeping Youki at a distance, she jabbed at him with deadly strikes without letting him get too close.

Knowing this was their chance to win this, Marisa shouted to Leonidas and Shirou, "Get the other geezer!"

As they moved to avoid Yagyu, Marisa aimed her Mini-Hakkero at him and shouted, "MASTER SPARK!"

Yagyu was enveloped in the rainbow beam, and as the Master Spark faded away he came away with nastily burnt skin and fell on his face.

Youki, on the other hand, dived aside from Shirou's swords, blocked Lancer's spear, but wasn't able to recover in time to defend himself from getting his face slammed into Leonidas's shield.

 _GONG_

He staggered and fell on his back, unconscious.

All three guys looked down at Youki, and Shirou asked, "Do you think he's gonna be okay?"

"Pfft, forget him!" Marisa shouted. "Look at the other old geezer!"

Yagyu was a bit scorched, but his fingers twitched.

"He's alive, at least," Nasupil murmured, his arms returning to flesh as he retrieved his sword.

Marisa turned to her new Servant. Definitely a lot taller than her, and very womanly at that. Her expression reminded Marisa of Byakuren or Yukari: calm, serene, and about ready to break your spine.

She decided to interrogate her new Servant later. Pointing further down into the Netherworld, she said, "Okay, _now_ we save Reimu."

 **Oh boy this was long.**


	19. Queen of Ghosts

**Lu Bane Na: Ugh, yeah, I couldn't think of what to do there... slow start, I guess.**

 **Guest: Yep!**

Queen of Ghosts

 _SPIRIT SIGN: FANTASY SEAL_

Youmu dashed past the multicolored orbs, flipped over yin-yang orbs, and sliced down at Reimu. Blocking the strike, she kicked Youmu back and leaped at her, striking her in the face with her gohei. The half-ghost reared back and snarled, drawing out her second sword.

"To hell with this!" she shouted.

"We're in hell," Reimu observed.

"Shut up!"

Slicing through talismans, Youmu closed the gap between her and Reimu within seconds. She swung both of her swords at her opponent, but Reimu floated out of existence before launching talismans and yin-yang orbs alike at Youmu. She leaped away and ran away from Reimu's onslaught, going past graves and running across the walls. Spotting Saber and Sakura Saber's duel, she ran over and dashed behind Saber for a brief moment, causing the Servant to get battered by talismans and yin-yang orbs.

"Be careful!" Saber shouted before trying to swing at Sakura Saber.

However, the delay from Reimu's attack made her timing too slow, and Sakura Saber locked her sword under Saber's guard and swung her blade upwards, disarming her opponent. Saber's gaze briefly flickered to her blade, which was buried in the ground a few meters behind Sakura Saber. Any move she made would clearly not go unnoticed, so if she was going to grab her sword, she'd need to do it all in one go.

Good thing Sakura Saber offered her the opportunity.

Sakura Saber charged at her, sword outstretched for Saber's face. Saber tensed up, ready to redirect her, and-

...she flopped to the ground, coughing up blood, her sword falling to the ground uselessly. Not wasting any time, Saber ran over to grab her own sword, and as Sakura Saber was getting up she just went back into her fighting stance.

Maybe taking Sakura Saber down while she was getting up would mean victory. But she'd rather let her opponent have a chance.

Holding her sword to her chest, Saber closed her eyes. Her Noble Phantasm would be the attack she'd use to take down an opponent as worthy as this one... even if Sakura Saber having the same face as herself was creepy as hell.

At the same time, Sakura Saber held her sword to her side, pointing the tip of the blade at Saber. She took a deep breath.

"Sheathed in the breath of stars. A torrent of shining life. Hail!

"One silent step... Two steps infinite... Three steps, a sword absolute!"

Saber's eyes opened, and her sword swirled with a golden glow. She raised the blade above her head as the ground began to shake-

Sakura Saber's eyes opened, and she lunged at Saber. Her blade aimed for her opponent's face-

"EX...CALIBER!"

"Mumyō Sandan-Zuki!"

 _Slice_

Sakura Saber flew past her opponent and landed on her feet, her fighting pose still intact. Saber's own sword hit the dirt, right in the middle of the cut in the ground she made.

One of the Saberfaces staggered.

Meanwhile, Youmu was running at Reimu, going at about four feet with each small leap. Even though the shrine maiden was flying, Youmu was going at a speed to match her own. Every time Reimu threw a talisman or yin-yang orb at Youmu, it would easily be cut apart.

 _If only there was a way to distract her..._ Reimu thought.

Then something ran in Youmu's path. Somebody familiar...

"I beat her, Master Youmu!" Sakura Saber cheered.

With Sakura Saber going right into her face, Youmu crashed into her Servant, and both tumbled into the ground. Reimu stared in disbelief as Servant and Master lay in a heap of confused limbs and bodies.

She casually floated down to them and smacked them both in the head with her gohei. Once they were unconscious, she went over to Saber, who was on her knees, leaning on her sword.

"Well that sucked," Reimu muttered.

Saber said nothing for a moment. Then she asked, "Are they defeated?"

"Yeah. The Servant got her and Youmu into a mess and I just knocked them out."

Saber began trembling. Concerned, Reimu asked, "Hey, you okay?"

Then the Servant got to her feet and pointed a finger at Reimu angrily.

"It's your fault for hitting me with your attack that I lost my duel!" Saber shouted indignantly.

Reimu put her hands up in mock surrender and shot back, "Hey, sorry that you're too slow to dodge it!"

"And your aim was-"

" _Saber!_ "

Looking up from their fight, Saber and Reimu spotted Shirou charging at them, blades out and murderous. Following him was the buff guy with him, a teal-haired woman with a spear, a dark-haired boy, and Marisa, all of which trying to catch up to their enraged ally. Weird group, but now was not the time to think about it.

Saber stared down Reimu and said, "We'll discuss this later."

"Agreed," Reimu replied.

They both hurried over to the Saigyouji Ayakashi, leaving the other group in the dust.

 **...**

Reimu expected a grand fight. Something more hopeless than her encounter with Satori. At least a few broken bones or something.

What she got was so, so far from climactic it hurt.

On her hands and knees, head bowed low, Yuyuko Saigyouji begged, "Please don't take my food! I'm so hungry!"

"You're hungry because you've chosen to eat and eat until your stomach widened like the Gates to the Land of Shadows. You need to eat less!"

Yuyuko's 'Servant', who acted a lot more like a Master, stood in front of Yuyuko, tall and imposing, in between the ghost and her food. The Servant herself was dark-haired, almost purple, with a violet bodysuit that hugged her body and a crimson spear at her side.

The spear itself reminded Reimu strongly of Lancer. She prayed they weren't related.

Once Reimu and Saber got closer, weapons drawn, the Servant turned to them with a cold smile.

"Greetings. I am Scathach, Queen of the Land of Shadows," she said, rather forthcoming with the info.

"Oookay…" Reimu muttered. "So, do you mind not stealing food any-"

"I would not mind at all. In fact, I was about to give it all of the way."

Scathach gestured to the excessively large pile of food, and Reimu felt a weight fall off her shoulders.

"Can... can I hug you?" she asked.

Scathach shook her head. Yuyuko continued to bawl, but she was paid no heed.

Looking slightly exasperated, Saber asked, "Wait, there's no fight?"

"I don't intend to," Scathach replied. "After all, this place needs some fixing."

"You're not going to hinder our progress?"

"I don't see any reason not to."

"Not going to give us a challenge?"

"No thanks. I'd rather not stomp the King of Kings into the ground."

Saber's cheeks puffed angrily. Reimu swatted the back of her head.

"Thank her," the shrine maiden huffed. "We don't have to deal with some big battle and now we can go home."

Shooting a glare at Reimu, Saber bowed her head at Scathach and said, "Thank you for your kindness."

Scathach bowed in turn. Thankful that she could now go home and get her roof fixed, Reimu turned heel and went back the way she came. Saber began following her, and they both ignored Yuyuko's wailing as Scathach dealt with her food.

"Personally, I'm glad that we can just go back now," Reimu said conversationally.

"Good of you to forget Shirou," Saber grumbled in response.

With an eyeroll, Reimu replied, "Fine, we'll go check him out and see if we can fix him."

Going down to where they battled Youmu and Sakura Saber, they found the same group from before standing around something. Upon closer inspection, they were interrogating both swordswomen, who were tied up, back to back.

"Hey!" Reimu called. "Somebody hold back psycho boy!"

Of course that got everybody's attention, and before Shirou could charge at Saber, the buff guy grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up like a child.

"Thank you!" Reimu said.

Both of them walked over, and Marisa grinned at them.

"Wow, you beat up Yuyuko fast," Marisa remarked.

With a shrug, Reimu told them, "Well, her Servant just let us go and was already dealing with her for us. Can't really complain."

Looking over at the others, Reimu realized she didn't even know any of these people. Only one of them was probably Gensokian, but she couldn't recognize who he was.

Saber herself couldn't recognize the other Servants. While it hurt in her heart to see Shirou like this, she couldn't afford to not take note of the others. She had to pay attention to everything around her. A good king would do that to take note of-

"I'm just gonna say, Reimu, MY SERVANT IS A BADASS!" Marisa suddenly started shouting.

Her sudden shout jarred Saber a bit, but she quickly composed herself.

"Cool," Reimu said, her voice flat.

Marisa didn't seem to care that Reimu was hardly paying attention to her Servant's badassery, because she continued, "She's a Lancer, five-star, and top-notch! Oh, she kicked that old man's ass I tell ya..."

The teal-haired woman said, "You flatter me."

"Then there's the big guy," Marisa continued. "Leonidas or something. Also a Lancer, not as cool but still cool. And he's the Servant of that kid!"

Marisa pointed at the last person. He kept on flickering his gaze from his feet to Reimu. Saber wondered why he was acting so strangely.

Strange how she didn't have to think too hard about it.

"R-Reimu Hakurei," he stammered. "I-I'm in love with you."

Everybody's faces went slack in disbelief. They all turned to him, trying to process what he just said. He himself was looking embarrassed, holding his hands over his eyes.

Reimu walked over to him, saying nothing. Noticing her walk over to him, the boy removed the hands from his face.

Then she slapped him.


	20. Pristine Lunatic

**Eramis8: Shh...**

Pristine Lunatic

Reimu's hard _smack_ echoed, and she didn't waver in the slightest as Nasupil staggered back from it. He held a hand to his cheek where Reimu's strike left a red mark, then fell on his behind.

Leaping to his Master's defense, Leonidas raised his shield and spear. He pointed its tip to Reimu's chest as he blocked her path to Nasupil.

"Stay away from my Master!" Leonidas shouted.

"No, it's fine, Leonidas," Nasupil murmured, hardly audible. "I kinda deserved it."

Leonidas moved to his Master's side, his hold on his weapons unmoving. However, Reimu had already moved on to Shirou, who was now being held by the scruff of the neck by Marisa's Servant.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Reimu demanded, eyes cold with frustration.

"I hate Saber!" Shirou shouted.

"Why?"

Again, that confusion flickered on Shirou's face, like he didn't have an answer. Then he went back to kicking and thrashing.

Turning to Marisa, Reimu asked, "Has he been like this?"

Marisa shook her head and responded, "Nope. He was cool 'til now."

Reimu thought about this. It didn't make any sense at all. Why would he be acting like this? From Saber's description of him, he ideally wouldn't have a vendetta for her. Hell, based on Saber's first reaction from seeing him again, they were probably very close.

Saber walked over to Shirou who glared at her. She declared, "Let's go back to your home. I don't like the idea of staying here any longer."

Reimu looked down at Youmu, who was still tied up. The half-ghost flipped the bird at her.

"Yeah, sure," Reimu agreed. "How do we get back there, then?"

A gap opened nearby.

"Need a trip back?" Yukari asked.

The shrine maiden had to remind herself that, despite her annoyance to the gap youkai, she was a great help.

 **.**

 **Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.**

 **.**

"Five more push-ups!"

"I already did eighty! How much more do you want me to do?!"

"Five more!"

Nasupil howled in agony as he did five more pushups in front of the Hakurei Shrine. Though he and Leonidas, who was telling him to do a _lot_ of pushups, were invited inside, Nasupil refused to enter. It was clear that after he confessed to Reimu, for whatever reason, it made him feel embarrassed enough to keep out of their interrogation.

Good.

Apparently, Yukari had been watching their entire trek throughout the Netherworld. While the others helped prepare for the interrogation, Yukari filled Reimu in on who the weird boy and his Servant were. Not that Reimu really cared that much... the boy had put a bad impression on her from his lack of understanding of a proper time and place to confess a little crush like that.

If he was trying to gain her affections, he was off to a rough start.

Marisa's Servant, who was apparently named Brynhildr, gripped Shirou's shoulders as Marisa tied him up. He was forced to sit down on the floor... right next to the crater Saber made. Just in case he got a bit annoying, they could just kick him into it.

As he glared up at Saber and Reimu, who returned the look as they stood over him, Marisa said something about going to look around before disappearing.

Reimu _really_ hoped that she didn't make a bigger mess.

"Shirou, do you remember me?" Saber asked sternly.

"Yes," Shirou spat.

"Do you remember the battles you fought side-by-side with me?"

"Yes?"

Reimu raised an eyebrow at the way he posed his response. His eyebrows had scrunched up along with the way he said it as a question. It was like he was trying to remember something that was lost.

"Do you remember Ilya?" Saber continued.

"Yes."

 _What a weird name,_ Reimu thought.

"Do you remember Rin? Taiga-sensei? Sakura?"

Shirou's previously hateful, yet confused expression turned into something like distress. Like he was suddenly remembering these things.

"Do you remember cooking for me every night? Teaching me how to? Going out to have fun with me?"

"I..."

"Do you remember what you wanted to be?"

Shirou fell silent. His expression turned to understanding. Then shame. He looked down at his feet, unable to meet Saber's eyes.

Saber turned to Reimu. The shrine maiden noted that the Servant's expression had changed a bit. A bit softer, sadder than it had been before. Her lip quavered a bit.

Then Marisa burst in, not noticing the mood.

"Yo, Reimu! You didn't tell me you kidnapped VIVIT!" she shouted.

Reimu glared at her before muttering, "That's Ruukoto, not VIVIT."

"Oh."

They all stared at Marisa, appalled at her inability to read the room for a few seconds. Then Nasupil cried out, and both he and Leonidas were hurled into the shrine.

"Whoa! What the hell?!" Reimu exclaimed.

Leonidas, who had fallen into the pit, reached his hand out of it while saying shakily, "Shirou's mom is here to pick him up."

His hand went limp.

"Shirou's mother is dead," Saber said flatly.

Brynhildr looked towards Nasupil, who was unconscious and had his head stuck in a wall. His butt was sticking out from beneath his hakama for all to see.

"They seem to be fine," Brynhildr declared.

A small relief. Reimu wasted no more time and looked outside.

"Shirou, it's time to go home!" Junko called from the shrine porch, her smile still the same as before. Yet somehow, she seemed much, much more dangerous and menacing than before.

Reimu opened her mouth and started: "Hey, wai-"

Then there was a blinding light, a horrible scorching, and then Reimu slipped into unconsciousness.

 **...**

 _Mommy! Mommy! Outside is so warm!_

 _Mommy! Mommy! The market's open!_

 _Mommy! Mommy! I think he likes you!_

 _Mommy! Mommy! Why do those men look so mean?_

 _Mommy! Mommy! I-_

 ** _MOMMY! MOMMY! WHY DO THEY HATE US SO MUCH?!_**

 ** _MOMMY! MOMMY! WHY DO WE HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS?!_**

 ** _MOMMY! MOMMY! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO?!_**

 ** _MOMMY! MOMMY!_**


	21. Mommy! Mommy!

**...** **why am I born like this?**


End file.
